Broken Like Me
by LadyAlexandraNoir
Summary: Alexandra Black is a very normal human living in a very normal world, until she's not. This is not how the song goes. (SI-OC)
1. Chapter 1

_**Hello there guys! This is a small something (might turn into a big something) that I'm working on, I've been really stressed lately and the muse has been crazy lately, I have writer's block on Original Sin, so this is me trying to break a little out of it, because if I can find it in myself to write for this fandom then I might be able to continue the other story soon.**_

 _ **Anyways, hope you enjoy! (trying a new style too btw!)**_

 _ **Alex.**_

* * *

 ** _~ Life is not a love song that we like_**

 ** _We're all broken pieces floating by_**

 ** _Life is not a love song, we can try_**

 ** _To fix our broken pieces one at a time ~_**

 _\- Broken Like Me, lovelytheband._

 _This is how it goes…_

 **Five Months Ago.**

I looked at the gun barrel in front of me, in the snap of a second I felt pain and nothingness, surprise, anger, regret, several emotions went through my head in that split of a second, and then nothing.

I could hear many sounds and I could almost feel colors, yellow meant warmth, blue meant coldness, red felt good, but black felt sinister. I didn't like it when it was black, black was oblivion. I hung on to red and yellow and made it an orange sky, orange had been the new black once.

The constant beeps kept me going, they were familiar, the smells and sensations were not, I couldn't feel a thing, but I could think, muddled thoughts, not all there, but it was something that I could do, I could think in oranges and blues, lilac was welcomed, while black made the beeps increase.

Time was not important, at least I didn't feel like it was, time was a social construct and I was existing outside of societal norms, I just was, there were familiar noises, memories of silver but no silver linings. Time kept passing and things cleared out.

My lungs were breathing.

 _In and out, in and out, in an out._

 _Breathing._

The air was cold and crisp, artificial, breathable, clean, too clean. There was something missing but I couldn't feel anything else, just me.

Then it slowly filtered back, a name. Alexandra, Alex, Al, Aly, Lexi. I didn't like Lexi much, special occasions, yes, Lexi was a special occasion. Indulgent smiles, warm hugs and love, pure unadulterated love. Memories of a childhood soon followed, how Alexandra became Lexi became Aly became Al became Alex. Alex, it made sense to my thoughts, I was Alex, Alex was me.

Pain, pain had started in lieu of blue, instead of the numbness that blue provided pain became a shade of red, vibrant, pain. I didn't like pain, but it was there, holding me back, holding me awake, away from the dreams of silver, explosions and more pain.

So much pain, then nothingness again.

 _And again._

 _Once more._

 _Until._

 _Just then._

 _Remembrance._

 _Fucking finally._

I gasped hard, pushing my body to its limits until I was finally sitting. Wires were covering me, an oxygen mask was covering half of my face and a nurse was quick to run into my room? space? What the actual everliving fuck was going on?

"Miss!" the nurse said, voice full of anxiety, "You shouldn't be sitting"

"What's going on?" I asked, my voice was raspy and my throat hurt, I wanted water, needed it.

The nurse kept staring at me, surprise in her eyes, I keep looking at her confused, she ran off the space and I was left sitting on the hospital bed. By the look of things around me I was in the ICU, there was a heart monitor next to me and an oxygen tank.

I counted one hundred and twenty beeps before the nurse returned followed by two doctors, they looked at me with surprise in their eyes.

"Miss" asked one of them warily "Do you know where you are?"

I furrowed my eyebrows and thought about before answering, "A hospital?" I said tentatively, the doctors exchanged glances.

"Miss, you're in the ICU of the NYU Langone Hospital" the older doctor said and I frowned, New York? What was I doing in New York?

"Uh, Doctor" I squinted to read his name on his robe, "Doctor Johnson, if you'd be so kind to tell me how I, uh, well, why am I in New York?"

Of course Dr. Johnson and Dr. Preston couldn't really tell me, what followed were three days of testing, because I had apparently been in a very bad shape. I had been shot in the head, or at least that was the last thing I remembered, but my head was fine, no bandages nor entry wounds, so either the meds were confusing me, or this was some sort of ruse.

The Doctors asked me about my life, I answered as best as I could, my name was Alexandra Black, born in London, raised in Spain then moved to Miami along with my entire family. My father's name was Alexander, my mom's Rose, Alexander and Rose Black, I had a brother, younger, jealous, kind of an asshole brother, Jacques, Jacques Black, he had been named after my maternal Grandfather, Jacques Foundier, a frenchman who had married Leonor Gouveia from Portugal.

It seemed to please the doctors that I knew, but I heard their whispers, I was far from stupid, whatever had happened to me, nobody thought that I was going to make it, or at least not to 100%. To be honest, I felt fine, the pain had faded and even though I had some bruises, I felt fine, I had felt worse when I had started working back when I had been nineteen.

It was five days after waking up that half of my world shattered.

"Say what again?" I asked shakily.

"We're very sorry Miss Black" the psychologist apologized, I could feel the tears forming in my eyes.

"My, I…" I gasped for air as I tried to get my thoughts in order, "They were home, I was there with them, I…" and then the kicking and screaming came.

My family, my entire family dead at sea, it made no sense, but I had seen the pictures, recognized the bodies, Mom, Dad, Aunt Chrissy, my cousins, Jacques, even little Lottie and baby Marcus, all dead. I couldn't grasp it, my family, my everything dead, and me alive, alone in the world. I couldn't, I just wasn't ready to face an entire life without my family next to me.

A dysfunctional cruise ship, many bodies recovered, not all alive, I had been a survivor… and yet, it didn't make sense.

My mother Rose Black would have never gotten on a cruise ship willingly, and my dad knew not to push her boundaries. But here it seemed to be something we did yearly, yearly family cruises. I flipped the page of the photo album that my lawyer had gotten me. I had been moved to a private room and the family lawyer, a man that I had never seen in my life, but that claimed to know me, visited me.

Elian Denvers, the name rung no bells, but he had been carrying one of my family's photo albums for me to see. He appeared in some of those, next to my dad, and in some next to me and my mom. I had been squinting at him, trying to find something familiar about this man, but there was nothing, nothing but photographs of memories that didn't add up to the life I remembered.

The other half of my life was cracked when I saw Elian's phone and asked why he didn't have a better model, he looked at me confused and told me that it was the latest phone on the market. I had frowned at him, his phone was a Blackberry Storm, apparently the latest thing on the market. He showed me a few of the specs and then I finally saw the date on his phone.

January 15th, 2009.

2009.

 _2009._

I couldn't stress the year enough, because I'm sure that in 2009 I had been a High School brat, probably a freshman or Junior, I couldn't remember exactly, but I knew that I hadn't been twenty six in 2009.

 **Three Months Ago.**

Getting out of the hospital two months ago had been a hazy experience, I was in 2009, my family was dead and apparently I was now the sole owner of everything my very expansive family had owned. I couldn't care less for the fact that I was filthy rich, I wanted my fucking family back, all of them. But life was a fucking joke.

After Elian had explained everything to me, and had told me that he and his family were going to be there for me back in Florida should I ever needed something was touching. But honestly, I wanted nothing to do with a bunch of strangers. I had almost drowned at sea, I had been one of the few survivors of that fucking cruise, my family was dead, or at least a version of my family was dead.

It had to be, I had somehow time travelled, dimension travelled, I had died and had been reborn into some poor Alexandra's life, because even if everyone looked the same in the pictures, many things were just different. Which probably meant that my family was perfectly fine and I had died, back home, back where I belonged and not in this creepy ass place.

I sold all the Florida properties, that had been my first step, family belongings had gone into storage, and all houses sold. Then I rented myself a one bedroom apartment near central park, it was a lovely thing with a terrace and a balcony. I even bought myself an iPhone 3GS if only to have Elian on speed dial, he was the one after all, dealing with everything back in Florida.

I was not going to Florida, ever, I was not risking meeting up with people who claimed to know me, I couldn't, I couldn't pretend to be this world's Alexandra Black, so staying away was it.

 **Two Months Ago.**

New York was nice, I had adapted, it was all that I needed to do, I had bought myself a samoyed puppy right after renting the apartment, Ghost was my new family, because yes, I still had a sense of humor and Ghost was the best thing to name a samoyed puppy.

But white ball of fluff or not, I was still not 100% okay, and honestly I doubted I was going to be, my world had done a 180, I was a twenty six year old in 2009 when it should have been 2019, ten whole fucking years. I was going to start my mastery in the summer, but damn, straight out of law school and dead and misplaced, life had a horrible sense of humor.

"One sangria please" I told the bartender, the man nodded and turned to prepare my drink, they didn't serve the best sangria, but it was the closest bar open at 10:00am, and it suited my needs just fine.

I closed my eyes as I took a sip of my drink, life was not what it used to be, I didn't have a job anymore, nor the need for one, I had a dog and was in route to alcoholism, all a twenty six. Fantastic, and it was not just the sangria.

I ran my hands through my hair trying to think of something I could do, the sky was a little bit overcast, Ghost was at the groomer's and I had a few hours to kill until I had to pick my fluffy cloud up, hopefully sober.

It was only me and two other guys at the slightly lit bar, I finished my sangria and handed the money to the bartender, leaving a nice tip. I grabbed my jacket from the back of the chair and walked outside, zipping it up as I stepped into the sidewalk, I fixed my purse in my hands and started walking without destination.

I lived in a nice place of New York, but New York was still New York, always bustling with people, always busy, the city that never slept indeed. But what happened next in my life was kind of wrong place, awful time kind of thing. Because life was not done with punishing me, oh no, it was just beginning.

My feet pulled me through the city, the warm buzz of alcohol keeping going without a care in the world, but sober enough to actually recognize the place. It was an alley, like the many alleys that littered New York City, this one connected two streets and I was actually trying to get to the other side, perhaps if I had been a couple of minutes later, or maybe if I hadn't stopped at the bar for the sangria I would have been early and not at the same time as him.

One man dressed all in black and wearing a fashionable leather jacket was pinning another guy to a wall, from what I could see kissing or sucking on his neck, I scrunched my nose as I prepared myself to walk by and ignore the weirdo like a good polite New Yorker, of course it wasn't like that, and the leather stud dropped the guy he was holding and turned to me, blood on his mouth, I scrunched my face in disgust.

"I'm not drunk enough for this" I muttered under my breath and that statement seemed to catch the stud's attention.

His expression changed, a grin appearing on his devishly handsome face. If I had been completely sober I would have noticed that there was something extremely wrong with the guy. Or that perhaps he seemed familiar, but no, I was not sober enough to deal with this shit, but I was drunk enough to grumble something to the guy and just keep walking, muttering to myself about weirdoes and the people of New York.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Wow, so you guys kind of liked this (if judging by your favorites/follows, thanks for that btw) I still don't know where this is going, but I hope to get an inkling soon (It may not go the way you think it will) .**_

 _ **Alex.**_

* * *

 ** _~There's something tragic, but almost pure_**

 ** _Think I could love you, but I'm not sure_**

 ** _There's something wholesome, there's something sweet_**

 ** _Tucked in your eyes that I'd love to meet~_**

 _\- Broken Like Me, Lovely the band._

 **Now**

 **May 3rd 2009.**

Music was blaring through the speakers and I had a mojito in my hand, granted the college party I was currently crashing was not probably the best choice for me, but I honestly couldn't care less. There was something about not caring that helped me feel what little I could feel after loosing my entire family to a freak accident, healthy coping methods hadn't made the final cut.

The visits to the therapist had been a waste of my time, no matter how much progress she said that I had made, I still felt half dead inside. Ghost was the only thing that anchored me to the world of the living. If not for the ball of fluff, I would have chucked myself off the nearest bridge, it wasn't a bad plan, but I needed to feed Ghost.

I took a sip of my drink and got pulled into the dance floor by some drunk sorority girl, I laughed and danced my problems away, the alcohol lulling my pain for the time being, it was the only way I could feel something, anything. Otherwise I was living a numb existence.

The song changed and I realized that my cup was, once again, empty, I sighed and decided to go back to the makeshift bar and get myself a refill, the night was young after all. The bar was full of frat boys, I ignored them and winked at the bartender who placed all his attention on me. I brought his face to mine as he handed me my cup, the kiss felt like every kiss I had given in this godforsaken world, empty, flat and just boring, but the guy smiled hazily at me and I winked at him again before I disappeared through the crowd.

I could almost hear my mom complaining about my behavior, just almost, and that glimpse of hope was enough to make me down the entire cup in one swing.

"Rough night?" asked a voice to my left, I looked up and was momentarily struck by blue eyes.

It was probably the breeze of the balcony, or the noise of the city underneath us, maybe it was all the alcohol that was running through my veins, or the fact that I was so over this existence, I smiled flatly at the guy.

"Who's to say?" I asked, the guy seemed amused by my answer and I rolled my eyes before gazing down to the street, the urge of jumping festering in the pit of my stomach.

Rooftops parties were such a drag.

"You don't look too well" the guy pointed out casually, I huffed, who was this dude to say if I looked well or not, I checked him out briefly, disinterest plain in my eyes.

"We can't all look like you, blue eyes" I drawled, he chuckled and took a sip of his glass of whiskey.

"Have we met before?" he asked, I shrugged, had I met the blue eyed stranger before? I squinted my eyes at him, he looked familiar, but not overly so, I smirked at him before grabbing the glass from his hand and downing the whole thing.

"Who knows" I said as I handed back the empty glass to him, I looked down once more, the street below looked so tempting.

The wind blew again and I fixed my scarf, closing my eyes and enjoying the crisp air that made me wonder my sanity. Was I okay? Debatable, was the night pretty? It was gorgeous, gorgeous enough to die a poetic death.

I held the rail with my hands, a small smile on my face, maybe just maybe I could be with them again, we could joke about my bad decisions, about what had become of my life for the past five months, I tightened my grip on the railing, so close to be free, to be finally free from everything, I was about to take a leap when I felt something holding me back.

"Whoa, whoa" a voice said too close to my ears, I tilted my head to the side to find blue eyes, wide blue eyes that were not amused anymore, maybe slightly worried, but not a hint of amusement in them, "What are you doing?"

"Being free" I answered as if it was the simplest of things.

"Free from what?" he asked, he sounded annoyed, prettily annoyed and so blue, like the ocean.

I giggled and turned to face him, his face felt funny under my fingertips, "From life" I whispered as if it was the greatest secret, blue eyes grew concerned and I laughed.

"They're dead" I whispered against the fabric of his shirt, his hands gripped my shoulders, holding me steady, I giggled again, I hadn't been held in a while, sure people held you during sex, but blue eyes was holding me in place as the world spun around me, "I'm dead" I said and looked up at him, "I wanna be dead" I whispered, I traced his lips with my fingers and smiled, "You'll take care of Ghost"

"Ghost? Excuse me Miss, what are you talking about?" he asked, but I wasn't listening.

"Ghostie, he's fluffy and white, so white, like snow, he's my baby" I said before I felt my eyes tearing up, my baby, my Ghost, I was going to leave my baby alone in the world, tears started falling down my cheeks, "Ghost will be all alone, I'm so horrible"

Blue eyes looked concerned as he examined my face, "I think… I think that you have had too much to drink, miss"

He was probably right, or not, I could have done with another drink, push the tears away, drink away and welcome numbness, I giggled again and rubbed at my eyes. "I wanna go home" I said softly.

But then again, where was home? I wanted my mom and my dad, home was them and they were not here anymore, never again. I wanted to go home, home.

* * *

My head was pounding when I woke up next to a table, the rooftop was littered with passed out college students, I groaned as I pulled myself up and checked my purse, thankfully everything was there, even the pack of bubblegum that I always liked to keep on me. I popped a piece of gum in my mouth and grabbed my sunglasses.

My memories from last night were hazy at best, I could remember the party and then little to nothing, I ran my hands through my hair and decided to leave. When I got home Ghost was there waiting for me, barking and jumping, I smiled at him and patted his head, he was still small but so cute.

I undressed on my way to the bathroom, the water of the shower was warm on my skin and I welcomed the small reprieve that it offered. My head was still pounding and I still felt like shit, but the shower lulled my emotions and cleared my thoughts a bit.

When I stepped out of the shower, everything was foggy, I grabbed my towel, basking in the soft fluffy texture of it and began drying my hair first. I wiped the mirror with the back of my hand and stared at my reflection. Gaunt lifeless brown eyes stared back at me, my once healthy tan had faded to an ashen look; I ran a hand through my damp hair and sighed.

I had to admit that I hardly looked my best, my build was slight at best and I often found myself swimming in clothes that once would have fit me perfectly, I looked even younger than my twenty six years, I barely looked nineteen, and that was pushing it. Deep inside I knew that I needed to do something, but I just couldn't bring myself to care.

I finished drying myself and grabbed a pair of underwear, then began my makeup ritual, I had become a pro at hiding everything under layers and layers of makeup, there was no need for me to look like the dead, even when I felt like it. Once I was done and actually content with my look I walked into my room and grabbed a clean pair of yoga pants and a black t-shirt. I slid in my tennis shoes and grabbed my jacket.

Ghost was already standing by the door, his harness on the floor next to him, he was just a smart pup, I smiled at him and crouched next to his side, patting him on the head, he licked my face as if he knew that I was far from alright and I couldn't help but to laugh.

"Ready to go out?" I asked, Ghost wagged his tail excitedly, I grabbed his leash and we stepped out of the apartment.

* * *

Central park was lovely, I sipped on my coffee as I walked Ghost, it felt nice to do something so trivial to take my mind off darker things. It was still a mystery to me how it was the year 2009, perhaps my entire life had been a fluke, a product of my almost drowning, I wanted to believe that so badly, but I couldn't. The pictures, the things that had happened, nothing lined up with my memories.

The doctors had told me that amnesia could be a side effect of drowning, that maybe I had brain damage from the experience. I wanted to believe them so bad that it hurt, but I couldn't, not in a world that my entire family was dead. I needed to believe that I had been the one to die, that this was my purgatory, that this was me, paying for all the wrongs that I had done while I had been alive. Besides, how could I believe them when I remembered the fact that I had been shot?

I had died, yes, but this existence? Whatever it was, it was not the life I had lived before, Alexandra Black was dead, but she hadn't die in some freak shipwreck, I had been shot, a bullet through my head and that was something that I still had nightmares about. So no, I couldn't just believe the doctors, no matter how compelling their arguments were.

Ghost whined as I pulled on his leash a little, I looked down and he had apparently been smelling some tree, I smiled at him.

"Sorry buddy" I said softly, Ghost yipped but was quick to return his attention to the tree, if only life could be that simple.

Once Ghost was done with the tree we kept walking, not a destination in mind and definitely trying to enjoy something while being sober. It was not that I liked being an alcoholic, and there was a reason that I hadn't done drugs. I was slightly scared of doing drugs, and since I had been working for law enforcement, so drugs had been a big no-no for me for all my life, so I stuck to alcohol and self-loathing.

* * *

 _ **Tell me what you think in the reviews! :D**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Wow guys, there's 47 people following this story, we could make a party out of it.**_

 _ **Thank you to the Six people who reviewed (You guys are the shit and I love you, this one is for you)**_

 _ **hfgfgfrdr: you asked me if this story was going to interact with the main storyline, and after much thought I have one thing to say about it, BUTTERFLY WINGS.**_

 _ **Which is why the dates of this story are bloody important.**_

 _ **Shadowing: you spotted a drunk Damon in chapter one, which, yeah, honestly the people you meet in NYC, outstanding, too bad our girl was too drunk to remember him, like ... at all.**_

 _ **DullReign82: thank you for your reviews, it fills me with joy the fact that you managed to connect with the story and that Alex seems real, thank you so much.**_

 _ **Charles Ceaser: I live to please ;)**_

 _ **IamMHR: Writing has taken over my existence, please send help.**_

 _ **Angelicsailor: Boo! Its so fantastic to see you in another of my stories, ilysm!**_

 _ **ANYWAYS! THIS IS IMPORTANT, THIS CHAPTER DEALS WITH SEXUAL ASSAULT (OR ATTEMPTED ONE) YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.**_

 _ **Alex.**_

* * *

 _ **~I like that you're broken**_  
 _ **Broken like me**_  
 _ **Maybe that makes me a fool**_  
 _ **I like that you're lonely**_  
 _ **Lonely like me**_ _ **I** **could be lonely with you~**_

 _\- Broken Like Me, Lovelytheband._

 **May 15th 2009**

I paced around my apartment, Ghost was asleep on his bed and I was restless again, I would've loved to be able to say that I tried to not go out at night, to yet another meaningful party, but I couldn't, staying inside these four walls just made me feel even worse. I felt trapped, lonely, destructive. I checked the time on my phone, 9:45pm. It was early, the time was perfect for me to go out.

I changed the water in Ghost's bowl, and then filled the other with food, just in case something happened. I slid in a pair of black skinny jeans and a black t-shirt, as I walked to the door I grabbed my purse and my jacket, my makeup had been done meticulously and I was wearing my favorite pair of chucks.

The night was comfortably warm, I started my night in a club close to my apartment. I sat by the bar and ordered a shot of tequila, it was a great warmup for what was to come. I looked around the bar, the place was not too crowded, but not lacking by any means, it was one of the things I loved about New York, the city was always crowded, no matter what day it was.

I smiled at the bartender as he placed my third cosmopolitan of the night in front of me and hummed to myself as I took a sip of it. At this point of my life I could proudly say that my blood was steadily turning into alcohol, and I was more than fine with it.

"A glass of whiskey" said a voice to my left, I turned slightly so I could observe the newcomer.

He was young and very handsome, but young still, perhaps recently turned twenty one. He smiled at me, a tight smile, but a smile nonetheless, I raised my glass and chuckled before returning my attention to my drink. A One Republic song was playing in the background and I let myself be carried by the music as I finished my drink.

The pain of living had lessened considerably, I could actually breathe and my muddled thoughts couldn't be an inconvenience anymore, I ordered another shot of tequila with a slice of lemon and salt and downed it swiftly. The stranger next to me ordered another glass of whiskey and tipped his glass to me when he caught me looking.

I offered him a sultry smile, perhaps he could become my Mr. Right Now, he smiled and looked down to his glass, before looking at me again, he had pretty green eyes and boyish looks.

"Hey" he said, my smiled softened.

"Hey" I said back.

"My name's Stefan" his voice was deep almost rusty.

"Alexandra" I said, he nodded, "What brings you to New York, Stefan?"

"Life," he said ominously, I laughed.

"That's deep, aren't you a little bit too young to be trying to be this deep and mysterious?" I asked, the last tendrils of my conscious inebriated mind keeping my head clear, if only for this moment.

"Not really" he said softly, his eyes boring into mine as if he could see something beyond.

I ran a hand through my hair and smiled at the guy, there was something about him, that perhaps had I been sober I would have noticed right away.

"You have any plans?" I asked after a while, the guy seemed to think about it before he smiled.

"Might visit some family in Virginia" he said, I took a deep breath and looked to the dance floor for a moment, perhaps talking to this guy was a bad idea, "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, no" I was quick to reassure him, I couldn't just break down in front of strangers in bars if they mentioned having any living family, "Must be nice having family to visit" I said dryly before gesturing at the bartender for another cosmo.

"I, uh, I'm sorry" the guy said awkwardly, I smiled sadly at him, there was something about this stranger, Stefan, that made you feel as if he really cared.

"It's okay, it's been a while" I said quietly before taking a sip of my drink.

I felt his eyes on me as I finished downing my drink, I took another deep breath before fishing a couple of bucks out of my purse, feeling better than a couple of minutes ago, I placed the money on the bar and smiled at Stefan.

"Goodbye stranger" I said before making my way out of the bar, the night was young and so was I.

* * *

"No, no, stop" I slurred as I tried to push a man away from me, I was not in the mood to fuck in an alleyway tonight, the man just laughed before he resumed his trail of kisses on my neck.

"What's the matter honey? Didn't you promise me a good time?" he said close to my ear and I sobered a little bit, trying to break free from his hold.

"Fuck dammit, stop" I growled as I lifted my knee and managed to hit him in the family jewels, but apparently not hard enough since he just got angry at me and held me by my throat pushing me hard against the wall.

"Listen up you little bitch, I will have my way with you, whether you want it or not" he growled, I clawed at his hand trying to break free from his hold.

"Fuck off" I managed to say; In another life maybe I would have been afraid of this guy, but now, I couldn't care less, I just wanted to break free and get home, the guy pressed a forceful kiss to my lips and would have continued until someone else cleared its throat.

"I believe the lady said that she didn't want anything to do with you" a voice said, the man that was holding me huffed and let go of my neck, I slid down to the ground as the man turned to face the newcomer.

"And what are you going to do about it, punk?" the man asked threateningly, the newcomer just huffed.

"You have a minute to leave before I kill you, simple" I tried to see the newcomer, but it was really dark around me, I pressed a hand to my throat trying to lessen the pain.

I had to admit that the unwanted dick had sobered me enough to realize that I was in a real sticky situation. I closed my eyes and pressed my hand against my forehead, the worst thing about having a hangover was having said hangover before the night was over, I groaned as I pressed the heel of my hand to my forehead.

"Hey" a voice said softly, I opened my eyes slowly, "Are you okay?"

"Define okay?" I asked as my savior helped me up, green eyes lit up a little bit.

"Have you come to any harm?" he asked, I shook my head.

"Not any harm that wasn't caused by myself and that vodka cannot fix" I answered truthfully, the creep hadn't harm me, but it had been close, too close, "Thank you, uh, Stefan was it?"

"Yes" he answered, a small smile on his face, "Can I walk you home?"

He seemed so worried about me, this guy that I had just met in a bar, worried about me, since when had anyone been worried about me in this godforsaken world? But there was something that prevented me of turning down the offer, perhaps his earnest green eyes, or the alcohol that still inhabited my bloodstream.

"Sure" I said, Stefan smiled and offered his arm to me, I raised an eyebrow at him but took it gingerly, stumbling slightly as we walked out of the alley.

* * *

We walked in a comfortable silence through the streets of New York, the breeze was slightly cold and was sobering me up a little more. When we reached my apartment I looked at Stefan awkwardly, he had been a complete gentleman, and from what I could remember from the bar, he had been nice back then too.

"Uh, do you want to come up?" I asked, he smiled at me.

"I'm fine" he said, I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Are you sure? It's relatively early, I could make coffee and I'm sure I still have cookies from my baking spree yesterday" I offered.

"I wouldn't want to inconvenience you, Alexandra" he said, I smiled.

"Nonsense Stefan, come on in with me" I said and I pulled him inside of the apartment lobby.

We took the elevator to my floor and I fiddled with the keys and the doorknob, I opened the door and walked in only stop and look back, Stefan was standing outside the door, a smile on his face.

"Come in, what are you waiting for? A written invitation?" I asked, Stefan laughed as he stepped through the threshold and closed the door behind him.

Ghost was quick to meet me as I made my way to the kitchen, barking and nibbling at my shoes.

"Hey Ghostie" I said crouching down to hug him.

"He's cute" said Stefan, I looked up and smiled at him, Ghost was quick to lose interest in me and go see Stefan.

Stefan, god bless him, took Ghost in stride not complaining about the hair that was going to take forever to wash out of his t-shirt.

"You live here alone with the dog?" he asked, I turned around from rummaging in the cabinets to squint at Stefan.

"Yes" I said slowly, "Are you a serial killer? Cause if you are I have no problems with you killing me right now, but you'll have to take care of Ghost, that's all I ask" I said, Stefan had a really concerned look on his face, probably trying to decided if I was joking or not, ironically, I was not kidding.

"Uh, I… I like to believe that I'm not a serial killer" he answered after a moment, I nodded at him and placed a plate of homemade chocolate chips cookies in front of him.

"That's good to know" I said, Stefan kept looking at me concerned.

"Are you really okay?" Stefan asked as he took a cookie from the plate, I shrugged as I started the coffee maker.

"I've been better" I said as I looked for cups in one of the drawers.

"Alexandra" he started, sounding so much like my dad when he was about to reprimand me that I looked up.

"Alex is fine" I said quickly, Stefan frowned at me.

"Okay, Alex, uh, do you need help? Is there… I… is there anything that I can do for you?" he asked and god he looked like a kicked puppy, I sighed.

"Look Stefan, I appreciate your help tonight with the douchebag and I really appreciate that you want to help me, you seem like a nice guy but unless you can bring back my entire family from the dead or you can kill me without leaving any trace, no, there's nothing you can't do to help me at the moment" I said crossing my arms.

He was quick to stand from the chair he had claimed and walked to my side, he placed a hand on my shoulder and looked straight into my eyes.

"I'm really sorry about your family, but I'm sure they wouldn't like you to just die off, and you're wrong, I could be your friend maybe?" he asked, I huffed.

"I'm not a charity case Stefan"

"It's not that, I have a friend, and she's helped me through some tough shit through the years, I see a lot of myself in you, the guilt, the self-loathing, turning to alcohol to numb my feelings, the destructive attitude, I've lived through all that and maybe you can be a chance to right a few of my wrongs" Stefan said without breaking eye contact, my breath hitched in my throat, "Please"

"Okay" I whispered, Stefan nodded at me and let go of my shoulders, I took a step back, "I'll let you help me, but you have to promise me something first"

"Sure" he said, I took a deep breath.

"You won't disappear or die on me, I… I can't lose anymore people, I've lost enough and if you're going to step into my life and help me with this, you're in it for your entire life" I said and a wave of nostalgia was quick to hit me, I had said something similar to my best friend Maggie a long time ago when we had graduated from University, that our friendship was forever, we were not going to leave each other alone in this world.

But Maggie didn't exist here, not in this wicked 2009 world, and I had searched for her, she just wasn't and I was not sure of how I could ever be.

"I promise" Stefan said, sureness in his voice.

I served us both coffee and we decided to sit out in the balcony watching as the night went by. I looked at Stefan as he sipped his coffee, steam flowing from his cup, he smiled at me when he caught me looking. Maybe just maybe, this is what hope looked like.

* * *

 _ **So, yeah, this has been the chapter.**_

 _ **while writing this I took the liberty to put Stefan in New York at the time, I tried to look in the wikia where he was before the show began and it only said that when he saved Elena's life he was visiting Zach in MF, so this is a few days before that, assuming that Stefan moved around before finally deciding that it was a good time to visit Zach.**_

 _ **So yeah, hope you guys enjoyed it.**_

 _ **And before anyone tells me that a person cannot sober up so fast, I've got news, you can (Personal experience) You can be totally hammered and a single action can clear your head quite a bit, still I wouldn't recommend driving, because the alcohol is still there, you're just using what's left of your brain at the moment, but all your other motor abilities are still impaired and should not be put to use.**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Hello guys!**_

 _ **Thank you again to all of you who reviewed, I love feedback and I thrive on it, so yeah your reviews are loved and appreciated.**_

 _ **LenaMiaH:**_ ** _Oi, muito obrigado pela sua crítica e bem-vindo novamente a outra das minhas histórias, mesmo que eu ache que você esteja torcendo por Damon, eu também acho que você deveria dar uma chance a Stefan. E sim, Alex passou por um período difícil, mas ela vai melhorar eventualmente, e ela vai perceber onde ela está ... muito em breve. De qualquer forma, amei o seu comentário e não posso esperar para ouvir mais de você._**

 ** _I really hope you guys like this one ;)_**

 ** _Alex._**

 _ **Ps. For those of you who are wondering, no, I am not Brazilian, but I do speak Portuguese and French and Spanish (and the tiniest bit of Italian and Esperanto) :), and if any of you feels comfortable reviewing in another language that is not english, please feel free to do so, don't let a language stop you :D**_

* * *

 _ **~'Cause I have been where you are before**_

 _ **And I have felt the pain of losing who you are**_

 _ **And I have died so many times, but I am still alive~**_

 _ **\- i believe, Christina Perri**_

 **May 21st 2009.**

Five days, five days ago I had met a guy in a bar that had changed my life. Stefan had all but moved into my apartment for those five days, five days in which I had stayed completely sober, not a drop of alcohol in my system. Five days in which life hadn't seem so dull.

Stefan was a weird guy, first of all, he had the patience of a saint. No matter how much I screamed at him, he was immovable. Unstoppable force meets immovable object, that was basically our entire friendship, I kicked and screamed and Stefan was just there to pull me back. He always made sure that I ate at least three full meals a day and was constantly handing me snacks through the day, sometimes I wondered if he was magic and could summon things out of thin air.

But that was Stefan and I honestly didn't question him or his existence, his strong presence was enough and in the five days that we had been more or less attached at the hip I had come to even enjoy his presence. Ghost had grown particularly attached to Stefan, although the guy was a total sap when it came to the small ball of fluff.

To be honest, I still wasn't completely back to myself, and I guessed I wouldn't be for a while, but having Stefan around, it helped a lot. He was never against listening to my rambles, nor he panicked or ran for the hills when I started crying without no particular reason, he had stayed through the storm, he had braved my emotions and for that I was never going to be able to pay him back, so I hoped my broken self was enough for him.

Five days, five days that had seemed like an eternity, the longest five days of my life and the promise of more to come.

I watched from my seat as Stefan took a sip of his coffee, he looked so serene sitting outside on a lounger, Ghost firmly by his side, the morning sun making his hair look lighter, ethereal, that was the word, Stefan looked ethereal.

"Alex, Is something wrong?" he asked, concern etched on his features, another thing about him was that he cared a little too much.

I smiled softly at him, "Not really, you just look funny"

"Funny how?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

"Like glowy, like Galadriel" I said before laughing.

"You're comparing me to an elf?" he asked, amusement in his voice.

"No, she's prettier than you, you just look glowy" I said before taking a spoonful of my cereal, Stefan snorted and shook his head.

We stayed in silence for a moment before I remembered something.

"Hey Stefan, weren't you going to visit your family?" I asked carefully, Stefan looked at me, then at the horizon.

"I can always visit uncle Zach at a later date" he said, a small smile on his face.

"An uncle? How about your parents?"

"They died a while ago" he said and I immediately felt bad for asking, apparently he noticed, "But its okay, I've gotten used to it, which is why I know that you will too, someday"

"Are you completely sure about that, Stef?"

"One hundred percent sure" he said and flashed a smile at me.

"If you say so," I said, he nodded.

"Hey, what if we go out today, we could go to Coney Island, I'm sure Ghost would appreciate a change of scenery"

"I'm not walking to Coney Island" I deadpanned, Stefan grinned.

"We can take my car" he offered, I raised an eyebrow.

"Deal"

* * *

Stefan owned a red vintage Porsche, which of course made sense, the guy was probably fucking loaded, that could explain the fact that he didn't have a job or why he was content to play psychologist to a depressed dirtbag like me.

"Are you sure you want Ghost inside your car?" I asked, he just smiled at me and opened his door for Ghost, the fluffy traitor was happy to get inside the car like he belonged in there.

"Come on Alex, you rarely get out of midtown, Coney Island has a nice pier and the beach" he said, sunglasses covering his green eyes, I rolled my eyes at him and placed my sunglasses on before getting in his car.

The ride was done in comfortable silence, music washing it down and it made the moment enjoyable, Stefan even hummed to several songs and then pretended to not know the lyrics to a Kanye song, I grinned at him as I noticed, he was such a dork.

We arrived to Coney Island near midday, Stefan was quick to steer me towards a hot dog stand, Ghost's leash firmly in his hand. I ordered one without pickles and extra cheese while Stefan ordered a full one. We walked through the boardwalk and I ended up removing my sweater and just staying in a sleeveless blouse, it felt great to feel the sun warming my skin again.

"Who's glowy now?" Stefan asked, I rolled my eyes at him.

"You won't let that go, will you?" he shook his head and I ran a hand through my hair.

"Have you ever visited the Brooklyn bridge?" he asked after a moment, I shook my head, honestly I had never been to Brooklyn before today, "Then we must see it"

Stefan grabbed my shoulder and steered me gently back through the boardwalk, he kept his hand on my shoulder the entire time and just removed it to buy us ice cream as the temperature kept rising. We also stopped by a dog park so Ghost could stretch and drink some water.

"Ghost has you so whipped Stef" I smirked, Stefan huffed and crossed his arms.

"I'm sure there are worst things I could be" he pointed out, and I had to agree with him. Stefan could have been a fuckboi, he had the looks to be a complete Casanova, but he preferred to spend his time counseling the grievous or brooding.

"You have no idea buddy" I muttered, the ends of his mouth quirked up in a small smile.

"Are you hungry?" he asked and I had to raise an eyebrow.

"We just ate ice cream, Stef, you're sounding like Grandma, actually I'm convinced you're secretly a grandma, you overfeed me, make sure I'm taken care of… do you knit? Will I find a handmade blanket on my bed one of these days?" I asked and Stefan started laughing.

"No" he said once he stopped, "I promise, I do not know how to knit, so no blankets for you"

"If you say so Grandma Stef" I said cheekily, Stefan just rolled his eyes at me.

At the end Stefan won and we ended at a Pet Friendly Mexican Restaurant, I had my fun eating nachos and queso, and the guacamole was to die for, all the spiciness that had been missing from my life.

"Had I known that you loved Mexican food so much I would have brought you here first" Stefan said before taking a bite of one of his tacos.

"You never asked, Stef" I said, he seemed pensive for a moment before he smiled.

"I guess you're right" he said.

* * *

"I'll be here early in the morning, we'll go for a run around Central Park and from there we can catch a late breakfast" Stefan said as he stood by the door.

"You're going to make me get fat" I complained, Stefan huffed.

"Nonsense Alex, I want you to be healthy and you still look half dead most days" he said, I crossed my arms and glared at him.

"You know, I liked you better when you were all respectful and shit"

"You know that's a lie" he countered, I couldn't help but to smile, Stefan chuckled and pulled me into a hug, "Get some rest, I'll be here in the morning, okay?"

"Okay"

* * *

 **May 22nd 2009.**

"You did what?! Stefan, no, I can't" I complained as we ran.

"Of course you can, Alex, besides we'll have fun" he said, I rolled my eyes.

"You're talking about taking me to Boston tomorrow for a baseball game, those seats must have cost a small fortune" I kept on complaining.

"And I bought them already, besides you were the one who said that you loved baseball," he pointed out.

"Yeah, and I do, but it was something that I used to do with my dad" I pressed, Stefan huffed.

"And your father would like you to enjoy this game in his name, you just need to tell me which team we'll be supporting and we'll make a road trip out of it, I already checked a place that can keep Ghost for the weekend, he'll be happy and surrounded by other dogs, we'd be back on Sunday" Stefan insisted, I sighed, it had been a long time since I had even watched a baseball game, let alone got to one.

"Fine, but we'll be supporting the Mets, I wouldn't be caught dead supporting the Red Sox, just no and you have to let me pay for the food and the gas" it was my final offer for him, I wasn't just going to allow him to pay for everything I did.

We engaged in a small battle of wills, gazes locked, refusing to look away.

"Fine" he said, I grinned, "We'll leave tomorrow after breakfast and dropping Ghost off, that'll give us plenty time to get there and get settled"

"Stef, you're talking as if Fenway Park was two days away, at most its a three hour an a half trip" I pointed out, he just smiled.

"I just thought that maybe you wanted to look around before the game" he said looking way too innocent, I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Don't try anything funny Stef, I'm onto you" I said, he just smiled.

"So" he said after a moment clapping his hands, "Want to head out and grab lunch? There's a new food truck near the zoo that we haven't tried"

"The steak one?"

"That's the one, lets go, I'll get Ghost's leash" Stefan almost jumped out of his chair.

"Sometimes I think that Ghost likes you more than me" I said, a smile on my face.

"Nonsense, he just knows that I'm the chance of going out"

* * *

 **May 23rd, 2009.**

"You made breakfast?" Stefan asked skeptically, I raised an eyebrow.

"Contrary to popular belief, I do know how to cook, I just had decided not to" I drawled, Stefan's face pinched, I rolled my eyes, "Just dig in, I don't make Spanish Tortillas for everyone"

Stefan snorted and tried to cover his face unsuccessfully, I just glared at him until he began eating.

"This is really good, Alex" I smiled smugly at him.

"I know, I made it"

"I like it when you're humble" he said with a grin.

"Humble? Is that a verb? Never heard of it before" I teased, he laughed.

"Very funny, hilarious"

* * *

Fenway Park looked just like I remembered from memories that apparently were not. Stefan, miraculously, found a great parking space and was quick to hand me a Mets' cap, I put it on and smiled at him. It felt good to be here, the stadium bustled with energy and all the fans, Stefan had somehow appeared a cap for himself and was quick to led me through the crowd to our seats.

I had to stop for a moment and take it all in, ever since Stefan had walked into my life and refused to leave my life had done another 180, and to be honest while my mood was mostly moody or brooding, I didn't want to chuck myself off the nearest balcony, not anymore. While I missed my family terribly, Stefan had begun filling that void.

I didn't feel like drowning anymore, but rather, I felt like if I was learning to swim once more, no longer afraid of the tides and perhaps in time I could go back to what I was, maybe even better. Perhaps being broken didn't mean that I was forever useless, but that another type of art could be made. Kintsugi, perhaps the Japanese were right, yes, I had cracks, but they didn't diminish my worth, they added to the bigger picture, and Stefan, Stefan had become the gold that had started sealing those cracks up, still visible, but beautiful.

Broken but remade stronger, resilient but still vulnerable and all that I had learned in a week, the scars were still there, but they had been painted gold, and that gave me hope, hope that one day I was going to be able to look back at my life and laugh about these moments.

* * *

I walked out of Fenway Park sporting a big grin on my face, the Mets had won and in the Red Sox's own house, I felt giddy as I recounted the best plays to Stefan, who could only smile and shake his head.

"See, I'm just gonna wait for you to apologize now" he said as we walked to his car, I rolled my eyes good naturately.

"Oh great Stefan, you were right, forgive this mere mortal for making such mistake" I said, he just laughed.

"You are forgiven" he said, I punched his arm for good measure, "So, I read about this Italian restaurant nearby, what do you say?"

He was shameless, I just smiled at him, "Lead the way Stefano"

* * *

 _ **A/N: So here's the fourth chapter, remember that dates are important ;)**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Hello guys!**_

 _ **All your reviews prompted me to upload this little interlude that may or may not have the answers to your questions. ;)**_

 _ **Sualkin:**_ ** _Muito obrigado por gostar de Alex, e por pensar que ela é um ícone, eu tento o meu melhor quando escrevo minhas histórias e a de Os Vingadores é muito especial para mim. By the way, não me dê idéias ! Embora eu não possa prometer a você neste momento uma história do Jurassic World, não a descarte, ela pode sair um dia._**

 ** _Guest: You'll see ;)_**

 ** _Angelicsailor: Bby! Thank you so much for your support! It means a lot to me, hope you like this one. Btw there's no need to bow, a little curtsy is okay ;)_**

 ** _Laraliz16: Muchas gracias por leer mis historias y dejar tu review, que bueno que te guste la amistad de Stefan y Alex, y pues respecto a tu pregunta, pues ya verás! Puede que este capitulo te de un poco de luz al respecto._**

 ** _immortalblossom: thank you for reading! It makes me happy that you are enjoying this! And you are most welcome!_**

 ** _DullReing82: Yes, he will invite her ;)_**

 ** _LenaMiaH: Você sabe, eu também estava torcendo por Damon quando eu era mais jovem, mas eu recentemente assisti a série novamente e senti que eles jogavam Stefan sujo. Ele era muito doce e eu sinto que ele merecia melhor do que morrer por Mystic Falls. Eu odiava o que eles fizeram por ele nas últimas temporadas. E enquanto eu também posso ver a semelhança entre Stefan e Edward Cullen, eu também acho que as ações de Stefan eram mais justificáveis do que as de Edward, Stefan era um estripador, ele perdeu o controle e poderia matar centenas ou talvez milhares sem remorso, quero dizer, ele era afinal O Estripador de Monterrey. Então, sim, Stefan era realmente perigoso sob a influência do sangue e Edward estava apenas sendo, bem, Edward. Para ser honesto, eu nunca fui fã de toda a campanha de Stelena ou Delena; Eu sempre quis ver Stefan/Happiness e Damon/Self-Growth, para mim, o show teria sido melhor se pudesse ser sobre os irmãos, Stefan e Damon descobrindo que havia uma vida além de Katerina e que eles poderiam crescer juntos e talvez até se divirtam. Mas sim, isso não significa que eu odeie Damon, como ele sempre terá um lugar especial em meu coração, mas eu reconheço que talvez Stefan merecesse um pouco mais e que Damon, que era meio que um idiota, poderia ter feito com um pouco menos. Em todo o caso! Amei sua opinião, é ótimo ver que todos têm um ponto de vista e respeitá-lo, e bem, você mencionou Elena lá em algum lugar, e sinceramente, minha querida, tenho algumas novidades para você, continue a ler!_**

 ** _Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing!_**

 ** _Alex._**

* * *

 _ **Mystic Falls Interlude.**_

 _ **May 23rd, 2009.**_

Elena Gilbert was walking down the road, cellphone in hand as she waited for her parents, she couldn't believe Matt Donovan, her boyfriend, talking about marriage and children, they were both so young for that. She had called her mother a couple of minutes ago and was just waiting for her parents to pick her up.

Although there was something in the back of her mind, something that she couldn't quite remember, she spotted her parent's car and smiled tiredly, it was about time. She smiled at her parents and waved her mother's concern off, she just wanted to get home and maybe have a hot shower, she could talk to Matt later, much later.

Her father took the old road through Wickery Bridge since a storm had blocked the other road, Elena didn't really mind much, she quite liked the view.

The next and last few moments of Elena Gilbert's life were hazy. Her father lost control of the wheel and their car went tumbling down the bridge, there was no way out of the car for the three Gilberts aboard, no curious strangers to save Elena from drowning.

The car discovered an hour later when a group of High Schoolers made their way through the bridge and one of them noticed something in the water. 911 was promptly called and the bodies recovered.

A dark haired man observed from afar as three bodies were taken out of the river, recognizing the younger one as the girl he had met just minutes before the accident. Damon Salvatore observed the proceedings with a closed off look on his face wondering who was the dead girl who looked so much like the woman he loved.

* * *

Jenna Sommers had been in the library when she had received the fateful call from Liz Forbes, she had covered her mouth with her hands and sobbed over the books she had open in front of her, a million thoughts through her head but the most important that she now was the legal guardian of one Jeremy Gilbert.

* * *

John Gilbert had been in Georgia enjoying a glass of whiskey at a bar when he received the call, the glass that he had been holding slipped through his fingers and shattered on the floor, he had been quick to place a hundred dollar bill on the bar and walk out into the night, a phone in hand making desperate calls.

* * *

Katerina Petrova, Katherine Pierce, Kathy, she had been having a blast in Florida with her new boytoy Mason Lockwood when her phone rang, she pressed a kiss to Mason's lips before heading out to the balcony to answer. Isobel's voice was shaky as she told Katerina the news, Elena, the doppleganger, Katerina's one chance at freedom was dead. The vampire crushed her phone with her hand and glanced at the untriggered werwolf on her bed, she had been so close and now she needed to disappear again.

* * *

Isobel looked at one of the pictures she owned of her daughter, all for nothing, she ran a hand through her hair as she considered her next step. Her only daughter was dead, that small spark of emotion was enough to turn a switch inside Isobel Flemming, the woman was soon sobbing, holding a pillow to her chest, for her baby was dead and it was all her fault for trusting John with Grayson and Miranda.

* * *

Caroline Forbes and Bonnie Bennet held each other as Liz Forbes explained to them what had happened to their best friend, the two girls had tears running down their cheeks as the ugly truth struck. Liz pulled the two girls into a hug and vowed in that moment to be a better mother to her daughter, time was fleeting and death wasn't one to discriminate.

* * *

Matt Donovan sat with his sister in the living room of their house, his eyes red from crying, and Vicky, who was surprisingly sober, offering all she could to her little brother, she and Matt didn't need Kelly Donovan in their lives. Vicky was going to take the reins of her life and help her little brother through what he was going through, she could feel sorry for herself later.

* * *

Tyler Lockwood sat silently next to his mother, his father had gone out of the house to observe the proceedings of the Gilbert's. As soon as he had arrived from the bonfire his mother had pulled him into a hug, without hesitation he had hugged her back, he still couldn't believe that Elena Gilbert was dead, The Elena Gilbert, girlfriend of his bestfriend, dead. If his mother was a little more touchy feeling that night, Tyler pretended he didn't notice and just leaned into the touch.

* * *

A ghostly figure observed as the bodies were put in the ambulance, Emily Bennett had a small smile on her face, this was the end of the beginning and her family, her descendants would be just fine.

* * *

Niklaus Mikaelson felt a shiver go down his back and frowned twirling the glass of whiskey that he had been holding, his latest painting was not done yet, the colors were slightly off and he hated it. He sighed before placing his glass down and broke the painting in two, he grabbed a new canvas and began again with careful strokes, there was something wrong, he just couldn't put his finger on it.

* * *

 _ **SorryNotSorry**_

 _ **\- Alex**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Hello there guys! Hope u like this one ;)**_

 _ **DullReing82: You're most welcome! Thank you for reading!**_

 _ **Laraliz16: Haha que bueno que te guste! Nunca había visto una historia en la cual mataran a Elena así de primera, creeme que la busque y todo, asi que como no habia tuve un momento Thanos y me dije -Lo haré yo misma! y pues es que en verdad no me dio pena matar a Elena ;)**_

 _ **Sadia140230: You're most welcome for the update! Thanks for the review, and yes, I tried to warn you all.**_

 _ **Cravenato426: I just did, you're most welcome! and please, do stay around, you might like what's to come :)**_

 _ **immortalblossom: It does changes everything, I have a few ideas but nothing concrete so I guess you'll have to stick around.**_

 _ **Shadowing: #ELENAISDEADPARTY no one is going to think you callous.**_

 _ **Samcoo 12: Join the bad people club, #ELENAISDEADPARTY**_

 _ **flowerangel502: No, Alex is not a new doppleganger, rest assured that I won't be doing that, I'm doing something completely different, trust me.**_

 _ **LenaMiaH:**_ ** _Eu amo como eu enviei todos vocês em um frenesi para verificar as datas. Eu acho que todos nós sabemos que Damon na primeira temporada não teria salvado Elena, ele não tinha motivação para ela uma vez que ele percebeu que ela não era Katherine e Stefan não estava em Mystic Falls para Damon tentar foder. Agora, eu não sei exatamente como vou levar minha trama, mas garanto que tenho uma ideia, e acho que isso nunca foi feito antes. O que posso dizer é que, primeiro, Alexandra não será uma doppleganger, ela não tem nenhuma relação com Elena ou Katherine. Então, eu acho que sim, muitas coisas vão acontecer, as pessoas de Mystic Falls serão diferentes das suas contrapartes na TV Show e quem sabe. Alas de borboleta._**

 ** _CaribbeanTrinidadian: Thank you!_**

 ** _Lonesome Road: Haha thanks, thank you for taking your time and reviewing, I hope to deliver._**

 ** _ithedarkqueen: thanks_**

 ** _Daughter of Trickery: Hahahaa thank you so much #SorryNotSorry for the brain freeze ^^_**

 ** _: Thank you!_**

 ** _turningtodust: Hello, thanks, this is me updating._**

 ** _Demona Evernight: Hello yes, this is me coming back to this, thanks for the review._**

 ** _Amulet Sugar: I'm sure that everyone was shooketh, thanks for reviewing!_**

 ** _AUTHORS NOTE READ PLEASE: Thank you all for the support, here's another cool hint: There's a thing that our girl still hasn't realized yet, that is enough to shake the story a little more ;)_**

 ** _much love,_**

 ** _Alex_**

* * *

 _ **~Something about the way that you walked into my living room**_  
 _ **Casually and confident lookin' at the mess I am**_  
 _ **But still you, still you want me~**_

 _\- Next To Me, Imagine Dragons._

 **May 24th, 2009.**

Stefan and I walked out of the hotel we had stayed with our bags, well Stefan was carrying the bags while I ate a bagel and sipped on coffee.

"Hey Alex, do you have plans this week?" Stefan asked, I dignified his question with a raised eyebrow, he laughed, "Do you want to go with me to visit my uncle?"

"Sure, as long as Ghost can come, I can't believe you convinced me to leave my baby behind," I said pouting, Stefan grinned.

"He can come, Uncle Zach likes dogs."

"And where is this uncle of yours?" I asked crossing my arms, Stefan shrugged.

"Small town in Virginia, maybe you'll love it, it has a homier feel than New York," he explained, I nodded.

"If you say so."

* * *

I frowned as I finished packing my bag, Ghost was laying on my bed looking way too comfortable, I zipped up the bag and huffed. Stefan was a nice guy and he had brought me out of my darkest moment, but going with him to visit his uncle seemed so weird to me. It felt too familiar, it meant an attachment that I wasn't sure I was ready for in my life.

"Hey Alex, you ready?" Stefan asked from the doorway, I turned to look at him.

"Sure," I said, Stefan walked into my room and stood in front of me.

"Hey, if you don't want to do this, you don't have to," he said as he grabbed my face in his hands, a kind smile on his face.

"I want to," I said softly, "I'm just scared, what if your uncle doesn't like me?"

Stefan's eyes softened and he let out a small huff, "Zach will love you, trust me."

"Okay," I murmured, Stefan grinned at me before pulling me into a hug.

My hands wrapped around his middle and I felt his lips on my forehead in a comforting kiss.

* * *

"Hey, everything okay?" Stefan asked, his voice brining me out of my thoughts, my eyes snapped to him.

"What? Uh yeah, just thinking," I said feeling my blood rush up to my cheeks.

"Well, we're almost in DC, any place you'd like to stop for lunch?" He asked, I shrugged.

"Anywhere that we can take Ghost, I suppose," I said, Stefan nodded.

"One Pet-Friendly restaurant coming right up," he said making a funny gesture with his hand, the car swerved lightly and I let out a yelp.

"STEFAN!" I glared at him, he burst out laughing and suddenly, I was laughing too, "You're such an asshole, Stef."

"No I'm not, I just wanted to see you laugh," he said innocently, I rolled my eyes at him.

"I'm pretty sure there are more safe ways to make someone laugh than to try to make a human tortilla out of us," I said as I crossed my arms, Stefan only smirked at me.

"Now where's the fun in that," he said and suddenly I felt the need to punch him in the mouth, with mine... Softly.

I huffed and turned my attention to the road again, trying to keep all my thoughts regarding Stefan at bay. Just as he had said we had stopped in DC for lunch at a small restaurant, it was cute and we sat outside with Ghost by our feet. After lunch, Stefan suggested a walk for us to stretch our legs as Virginia was still a couple of hours away.

He parked his car near the Lincoln monument and put Ghost on his leash, he offered me his hand with a smile on his face and I fought the urge to blush as I took it. The weather was nice for a May afternoon and the park was not too crowded.

"And I tell you, it's the weirdest thing," Stefan said, I chuckled and rolled my eyes.

"It's not, it's New York, I've seen weirder in the Subway," I countered, Stefan huffed and I laughed.

"You've been here before right?" he asked after a moment, I looked at him and nodded.

"A couple years ago with my class, we came here for a whole week it was one of the best trips that we did," I said, a small smile playing on my face.

I could almost hear Valentina's laugh and Irina's random comments as I walked with Stefan, simpler, unsure times, times that I was not even sure that existed anymore, but that I treasured in my memory regardless because in my heart I knew that it had been real, my other life.

"Hey," Stefan said softly, I looked up at him, I could feel tears pooling in my eyes, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you sad."

"I'm not sad, Stef, I'm just reminiscing, it's all happy memories, they hurt, but its a good kind of hurt," I explained, Stefan didn't seem convinced.

He frowned as he grabbed my face in his hands, his green eyes looking for something in me, I often wondered why he decided to spend his time with me, because surely there was more than Stefan could have been doing than hanging around with my depressed ass.

"I don't want you to be hurt," he said softly, his thumbs caressing my cheeks.

"You help, a lot, but I can't suddenly stop being hurt, but it's getting better, you make it a lot better," I said as I placed my hands on Stefan's chest and got closer to him.

We stood there and time seemed to stop, only Stefan and I existed in this moment, his eyes seemed unsure but I was sure of what I wanted, even if it was just for a small moment in this life of mine. I closed the distance between us, pressing my lips to Stefan's chastely at first, giving him the time to back down, he didn't, his hold on my face changed as he kissed me, slowly, as if he was scared that he could break me, as if we had all the time in the world.

Soon enough I needed to breathe again, I pulled away from his mouth but remained close, lips brushing and breath's mingling, I opened my eyes slowly and looked at Stefan, he had a small smile on his face I smiled back at him and he pulled me in for another kiss, his hands traveled slowly down my back to my waist and mine went up his chest to hold his neck, we pulled away when we needed to breathe again, he let out a small laugh as I stepped back, red in the face.

"I'm sorry," I said, Stefan continued to smile at me.

"Don't be, I wanted to do that as much as you did," he said one of his hands coming up to my face in a tender grasp.

"Okay,"

"Okay."


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello guys! So I finally got this chapter ready, cause I was trying to figure out how to proceed (still am tbh) but I have like 12% of a plan, but while I come to terms with my plan, please enjoy this fluffy piece.**

 **Now to your reviews:**

 **Amulet Sugar: Oh my god, thank you! At first I thought that you guys were going to not like the pairing, cause most people prefer OC's with Damon or one of the Originals, but I'm glad that you ship this. Stefan is an absolute sweet guy and he deserves the best (still salty about TVD ending .) so yeah, I have a couple of ideas of how this will play out, I'm examining the Timeline of the show to see how to best continue, some characters will be included, some will play big parts, others won't, but we'll see ^^ thank you for the review!**

 **Laraliz16: Gracias por tu comentario! Me encanta la aceptacion que ha tenido la partida de Elena, como he mecionado anteriormente, creo que tengo masomenos un 12% del plan de lo que hare con este fic. Respecto a tu pregunta te sugiero que leas este capitulo en especifico ;) y pues, mil gracias por leer mis historias y por dejar comentarios, eres un encanto!**

 **AngelicSailor: Our girl did it didn't she? Huh? (luv ya hunny!)**

 **LenaMiaH:** **Bem querida, posso dizer-lhe que este capítulo responderá a alguns dos seus desejos, nem todos, lembre-se, porque ainda estou tentando ver qual caminho vou seguir com essa história. Como sempre agradeço pela revisão, adoro ler seus comentários e eles me ajudam com o meu português. Também acho que devemos um pedido de desculpas da minha parte. Sinto muito que meu português é um pouco estranho, estou tentando o meu melhor, então ... desculpe por assassinar sua língua (espero que eu não seja tão ruim assim).**

 **SuperWhoLock1408: Well I hope you stay around to find out.**

 **Simbacurls: So glad you like the pairing! And well... I can't say anything cause I know nothing.**

 **ALSO PEOPLE... If you're interested do visit the changingfatesverse . tumblr . com, so you can see the collages and moodboards I do for the stories ^^.**

 **Thank you so much for reading guys!**

 **\- Alex**

* * *

 ** _~So come over here and sit next to me_**

 ** _We can see where things go naturally_**

 ** _Just say the word and I'll part the sea_**

 ** _Just come over here and sit next to me~_**

 _ **\- Sit Next To Me, Foster The People.**_

 **May 25th 2009.**

I walked back to the car with a dumb smile on my face. I couldn't believe my luck. Stefan liked me back, I felt like a school girl with her first crush. Stefan, who had seen me at rock bottom, liked me. It was surreal and yet he was walking next to me, my hand held safely in his, as if it was always meant to be there.

"Hey," Stefan said softly as he opened the door for me, Ghost jumping into the car.

I looked at him and smiled, he bent his head down and pressed a kiss to my lips, "What was that for?"

"Just cause," he said with a smirk on his face, I smiled and shook my head.

"You're a dork," I said poking his face, he grinned at me.

"Your dork,"

"My dork."

* * *

Stefan continued driving and at some point I'm sure I dozed off because the next time I opened my eyes night had already fallen and we were already driving through a small homey town. Stefan spared a glance to my side as I straightened myself up, I looked to the backseat and Ghost was napping.

"Where are we?" I asked sleepily as I tried to look around.

Stefan smiled at me, "We're almost there, the house is in the outskirts of the town, I guess my family preferred the calm."

"I can't blame them, small towns can be…chaotic," I said remembering another place and another time.

Stefan chuckled, "That's a word to describe them."

He continued driving until he pulled over some trees into a big driveway, the house was a huge beauty done in wood and dark bricks, I looked at him, wide eyed and found him smiling at me.

"That house is beautiful," I said, Stefan laughed.

"Glad you like it," he said as he parked the car.

I didn't wait for him to open the door for him, but rather stepped out, Ghost following close behind and took a better look of the architectural masterpiece in front of me.

I felt a hand on the small of my back and turned to press my lips against Stefan's, "This place looks fantastic, thank you for bringing me here, Stef."

Stefan grinned at me, "You're welcome, Alex."

I noticed that he was carrying our bags already, I went and grabbed Ghost's leash and Stefan guided us to the door, it was a huge door that looked to be made of oak, I was almost jumping with excitement as he led me into the house, it had an actual foyer, it was small, yes, but it was the thought that counted.

"Stefan, is that you?" said a voice from deep within the house.

"Yes, uncle Zach," Stefan answered as he steered me towards an ornamented living room.

The place was wicked cool, it even had a fireplace and it looked to be functional and everything seemed to have been done tastefully in wood. Stefan's uncle stepped away from the fireplace and turned to look at us, I smiled at him shyly and waved awkwardly.

"Uncle Zach, this is Alex, Alex, this is my uncle Zach," Stefan said as his uncle walked to us.

"Miss Black, is it?" he said offering his hand, I shook it with a strong grip, he smiled at me, "Welcome to the Salvatore Boarding House."

"The what now?" I asked because surely I must have heard wrong.

"The Salvatore Boarding House," Zach repeated, and there it was, that name again, I looked at Stefan a frown on my face.

"Is that like a family name?" I asked him.

Stefan at least had the decency to look ashamed and scratched the back of his neck.

"You never told the lady your full name did you?" asked Zach, clearly amused by our situation.

"Yeah, uh… that's my family name, Salvatore," Stefan said with a shy smile.

"Stefan Salvatore," I said slowly as I tried to come to terms with it. It surely was a coincidence, too much of a coincidence, "It has a nice ring to it."

Stefan looked relieved and Zach smiled at him again, I smiled at them as I tried to come to terms with the fact that my… my potential boyfriend could be a fictional, well, not so fictional character. I could see it, the resemblance to Paul Wesley was uncanny, boyish looks, a pretty smile and lovely green eyes. Had I been too drunk to notice before? And then too accustomed to my Stefan to notice?

And now that I was approaching the subject, what else had I missed?

Ghost's barks brought me out of my thoughts, Zach looked at Stefan funny and Stefan smiled at him.

"This is Ghost, Alex's baby," Stefan said amused, Zach squinted his eyes at him.

"I thought you had meant a real baby," Zach pointed out, I couldn't help but to smile.

"Hey, he's real," I couldn't help but to say, both men looked at me and smiled.

"Hey, how about we get changed and I take you out for dinner?" asked Stefan, I smiled at him and nodded.

* * *

He led me upstairs, leaving Ghost with Zach who promised to walk him. I tried to appear as unbothered as I could by the fact that I knew that he was a vampire, not that he knew that I knew, but it was the principle of the thing.

"Uh… I figured, we could share," he said before opening a door and leading me into his room.

I looked at him, a smile on my face, even if Stefan Salvatore was a vampire and this was the most bizarre thing that had ever happened to me, I couldn't help but to see my Stefan, the guy who had stayed with me through my lowest low. The guy who loved to eat raspberry snow cones and take my dog and me out for walks around New York. The guy who had kissed me as if I could somehow break in his hands and the guy that I had been slowly but steadily falling for.

"You won't hear me complaining," I said softly and he snorted.

Stefan showed me around the room and then the bathroom, it was a big bathroom, and then left me to my own devices, but not without me pressing a kiss to his lips just to reassure myself that he was real.

I stepped into the bathroom with a change of clothes, the bathroom was probably the coolest feature of the entire room. I got out of my clothes in autopilot and into the shower. The fact that Stefan Salvatore existed was such a disturbing yet illuminating thought. It certainly explained certain things. I had died. I was sure of that, I had died, a bullet through my head, that much I could remember. Angry brown eyes staring into mine as the trigger was pressed and then nothing.

Until I felt something again, I wondered if this happened to everyone who had died. If God or some higher power just decided to chuck people into other universes just to mess with people. I was now sure that I had usurped this world's Alexandra's life. But who knows, maybe it was better if she was dead, our whole family was, and despite my confusion and all, I had managed to move forward, with the help of Stefan.

I wondered briefly what would've happened if this world's Alexandra had survived, what would have happened to Stefan then? or Ghost? I couldn't dwell much on it, I was here now, she was not.

And as callous as it sounded, I was happy that my family was alive somewhere in the universe, although I knew that I was going to continue to mourn this universe Alexander and Rose Black, because I knew that no matter the universe my parents didn't deserve to die.

I got out of the shower in a mid haze and when I walked into the room, only missing my jacket and my boots and toweling my hair, Stefan was already styling his hair. I couldn't help but to smile at Stefan, and I understood him a little better now. Whatever I remember from a show that I had watched back when I had been a teen, Stefan Salvatore had been a troubled guy, always striving to be better, to be good.

"Do I have something on my face?" Stefan asked, I grinned at him and shook my head.

He walked up to be, holding my face in his hands tenderly, "You're gorgeous," I whispered as he brought his face closer to mine.

A smirk was dancing on the corners of his mouth as he looked at me, and he looked at me as if I was the only thing that mattered in the world and in that moment I decided that I was going to cherish that feeling, it didn't matter that the guy that was holding my entire heart in his hand was a vampire, or that he had been a fictional character once, this man that was holding me was real.

"Look who's talking," he murmured almost against my lips.

I didn't care about his last name and I wouldn't care about what the future held in store for us, I was living for the Now and at the moment I could only feel Stefan's, my Stefan's lips against mine. And perhaps it was not about us being broken together but rather holding each other up anew.

I was certain about one single thing though, vampire or not, Stefan knew how to kiss a woman and I was going to enjoy every second of it.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Hello guys!**_

 _ **Finally updating, I feel so fucking good about it!**_

 _ **So I hope you enjoy this :)**_

 _ **ALSO PLEASE... if you don't read any of my other works and just this one I wanted to tell you guys that I created a discord server to discuss this and all my other works and such... so feel free to join and write to me about everything (LETS ALL BE FRIENDS)**_

 _ **So here's the link**_

 _ **/ / discord . gg / cZpa3bc**_

 _ **NOW TO YOUR REVIEWS:**_

 _ **marlastiano: :)**_

 _ **laraliz16: Que bueno haber contestado tu pregunta ^^. Y sobre lo que dices de Elena, no creo que a nadie le gustó como termino el personaje tbh. Para ser una serie la cual gira en torno a vampiros, que la prota y uno de los prota se queden siendo humanos es anticlimatico.**_

 _ **Guest: Thank you so much! Elena needed to die, simple.**_

 _ **AngelicSailor: Hahahaha, I died, mucho bueno... amirite? ... Well, next time ... next time... Read ahead ^^**_

 _ **LenaMiaH:**_ ** _Primeiro de tudo, muito obrigado. Eu adoro me envolver com meus leitores porque às vezes fico preso escrevendo uma história e os comentários são o que me fazem continuar, ou me inspiram, ou me ajudam a ver as coisas de outra perspectiva, então adoro ler e responder comentários. Além disso, me desculpe por ter demorado tanto para atualizar, mas tenho tantas histórias e trabalhos em andamento que às vezes eu perco a noção de ser e acabo com mais trabalhos em andamento e não trabalhando nos que são postados (o que significa que há muitas histórias em segundo plano para que todos possam desfrutar, eventualmente). Agora falando sobre a história! Sim, Alex agora sabe que ela está no universo VD e agora você consegue ver sua reação, então eu espero que você goste muito dessa! Obrigado por seus comentários, saiba que eu amo e valorizo cada um deles. Também desculpe ler sobre o servidor Discord não está funcionando para você! Eu postei alguns moodboards lá, então se você estiver interessado em vê-los, por favor me envie uma mensagem no Tumblr para que eu possa enviá-los do seu jeito. E você pode escrever para mim no Tumblr a qualquer momento porque há uma grande chance de eu ver a mensagem desde que eu tenho o Tumblr no meu telefone e eu sempre tenho meu telefone na mão. ^^_**

 ** _Amulet Sugar: Omg! Your review was so sweet! Thank you so much! People don't know what they are missing, Stefan Salvatore is a BAMF, so I totally agree with u!_**

 ** _xenocanaan: Thank you so much for reading! I do strive to spice up things a little bit some times :)_**

 ** _Maistyria: Thank you so much for giving the story a chance, its still a work in progress and I have a vague idea of what I want, but I hope to meet yours and everybody's expectations!_**

 ** _gjnavres: Thank you for reading and reviewing! I also hope I can do the characters justice, trust me, I'm very zealous with my writing process and it's only gotten worse with time. Thank you so much for your words and support!_**

* * *

 _ **~Cause we're the masters of our own fate**_

 _ **We're the captains of our own souls**_

 _ **There's no way for us to come away**_

 _ **'Cause boy we're gold, boy we're gold~**_

 _ **\- Lust for Life, Lana del Rey Ft. The Weekend**_

* * *

When we walked back to the living room, Zach was sitting on the couch with Ghost cuddled up to him, the man had a book in one hand and patting Ghost's fur with the other, I couldn't help but to smile at the sight of it, I felt Stefan's hand on the small of my back.

"Uncle Zach, we'll be going to the Grill, do you want anything?" Stefan asked, Zach looked at us and shook his head.

"I'm good, you guys have fun," Zach said, we smiled at him as we walked out of the house.

* * *

"So, where are we going?" I asked, Stefan grinned at me as he opened the passenger door of his car for me.

"The Grill, its the best place around here to get a decent meal," he explained.

"No decent Food Trucks?"

"We're not in New York anymore Alex, small towns," he said with a small smile on his face.

I grinned at him and booped his nose, "I guess It'll have to do."

Stefan laughed before getting in the car. He drove around town with practiced ease, I wondered how often he visited. Zach seemed comfortable with Stefan, so I supposed their relationship was fairly good, I for one couldn't remember how Zach had died on the TV show, but I hoped that it wasn't going to be the case, he seemed like a nice guy.

* * *

Stefan parked the car in front of a nice looking restaurant, he was quick to get out of the car and get my door for me. As I stepped out of the car I noticed that the night was slightly chilly and I was glad that I had decided to wear a jacket. We walked into The Grill and I couldn't help but to look around amazed, this was a place that I had seen on a TV Show once, and now I was here, it was surreal and exciting.

We were led to a small booth in a corner by a very nice waiter, although I couldn't see her name tag. To be honest the place was a little gloomy and there seemed to be a sad vibe around, even the music was slow and mellow.

"Hello, my name is Vicky and I'll be your waiter tonight, would you like anything to drink?" the girl, Vicky said, Stefan looked up at her and then at me.

"I'll have a coke," I said smiling at her, I was 95% percent that this was Vicky Donovan, only that she didn't look to be a stoner.

"And the gentleman?" she asked with a smile.

"A coke too," Stefan said, Vicky wrote it down and then handed us the menus.

"If you want to order something else please let me know," she said smiling at us once more.

"Uh, Vicky, excuse me," Stefan started, Vicky nodded at him, "I thought you guys had live bands."

Vicky looked up to the small stage that was in a corner and then and Stefan, she looked apologetically.

"You guys are not from here, are you?" she asked, we shook our heads.

"We're visiting my uncle," Stefan said.

"Ah, well, two nights ago a very well know family of our town had an accident, the parents and their daughter died, their son was left behind" Vicky explained in a hushed tone, I looked at Stefan wide eyed.

 _Holy motherfucking shit._

"Oh my god," I breathed out covering my mouth with my hands.

"Did you know them?" asked Vicky interested, "The Gilberts?"

Shit, shit, shit.

"No, she, uh her parents and family died in an accident too," I heard Stefan tell Vicky hushedly, In a brief moment Stefan was sitting next to me instead of in front of me, "Hey, Alex, Alex, you're fine, I'm right here."

Stefan pulled me into his arms and I held onto him as I processed the news. The Gilberts were dead, that meant Elena was dead too, right? The main character was dead and Stefan was with me, Stefan who should have been in Mystic Falls to save Elena that fateful night, he had been with me… two nights ago… we had been at a baseball game.

I let out a harsh breath and suddenly a glass of water was placed in front of me, courtesy of Vicky, Stefan held the glass to my lips and I drank, letting the cold water cool my thoughts. Talk about ironies and butterfly wings.

"I'm okay," I whispered softly, Stefan looked at me, face etched with worry, "I just," and honestly what could I tell him?

He pulled me into a hug, "I know," he said as he pressed a kiss to my hair, well, I could always let him believe that the shock had gotten to me, that was always a good excuse.

I looked at Vicky and smiled shakily at her, "Thank you."

"Uhh, no problem, I'm sorry about your family, uhh, I'll bring your sodas now," she said before dashing away.

I stayed in Stefan's arms not daring to move, so I had met Stefan Salvatore so close to the first season timeline and Elena Gilbert was dead. Elena, the cause of all of Mystic Falls' troubles and grievances was dead, wow. I couldn't say that I was overly sad, not at all, I was not going to need to ever worry that Stefan was going to leave me for discount Katherine after all, and if Katherine ever appeared, Stefan hated her anyways. I leaned into Stefan's embrace as I let my thoughts drift away, I could worry about Mystic Falls later, or never, I could whisk Stefan to New York with me.

Away from this cursed town and Damon and his vengeful ways. I smiled softly and pressed a kiss to Stefan's jaw.

"Thank you, Stef," I murmured quietly against his skin.

"It's nothing," he murmured against my hair.

And he was right, it was nothing, there was nothing to worry about. From what I remembered of the show, Elena Gilbert had always been the cause of everything that had ever happened to Mystic Falls, and she was gone, gone for good, her death a small accident, nothing supernatural about it. And Stefan, Stefan was with me, had been with me, he never had the chance to see Elena and wonder why she looked like Katherine, he didn't even need to pose as a high schooler, he only needed to be himself with me, or as much as he allowed himself to be.

"I'm sorry," he said after a moment had passed, I let myself out of his embrace so I could look upon his face better.

"Whatever for?"

"This, I should've kept my mouth shut," he said, I smiled softly at him, one of my hands holding his face.

"Hey, it would have happened, better doing it now, than later, like ripping off a bandaid, you know me Stef, I'm a mess and my life has been, lately, a series of unfortunate events, until I met you, so, if anything else happens, I know, that I can hear it or walk through it as long as you're there with me," I explained gently.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Hey guys! So finally chapter nine, I'm really excited about where this is going to go (eventually), so here you get a really angsty chapter ^^**_

 _ **Remember to join the discord group if you haven't, the link is in the previous chapter ;)**_

 _ **Now to your replies:**_

 _ **silentmayhem: I mean, its not a lie. And without Elena many things will not happen, so who knows where Damon might end up.**_

 _ **Only Reviewer: I mean, of course Katherine will make her appearance, she's very important to this story... you'll see why ;)**_

 _ **Marlastiano: thank you!**_

 _ **LenaMiaH:**_ ** _Obrigado por sempre ler e revisar. Alex e Stefan são um trabalho em andamento e ainda há coisas que eles precisam trabalhar, mas chegaremos lá algum dia, eu prometo. E bem, Alex realmente não fala com Jenna neste capítulo, mas Jeremy ... isso é outra história. ;). Infelizmente, não posso contar muito sobre o que está por vir, mas posso dizer que Katherine é uma parte crucial dessa história, assim como Klaus. Você vai ver._**

 ** _Angelicsailor: Thank you for reading, I do update from time to time. Hehe._**

 ** _Guest: Of course._**

 ** _SuperWhoLock1408: #TeamStalex4Eva_**

* * *

 _ **~You keep his shirt**_  
 _ **He keeps his word**_  
 _ **And for once you let go**_  
 _ **Of your fears and your ghosts**_  
 _ **One step, not much, but it said enough~**_

 _ **\- You Are In Love, Taylor Swift**_

* * *

Despite everything that happened we managed to eat dinner before returning to the house. I briefly wondered if Stefan had drunk enough blood, but since he didn't seem disturbed by me or Zach, I figured that he was fine. When we returned, Zach seemed to be already asleep, the house was silent and Stefan and I treaded carefully up the stairs towards his room. Ghost was by the foot of the beed sleeping on what seemed to be an old cushion.

Next morning I woke up safely encased in Stefan's arms, I pondered my existence. I was in Mystic Falls, visiting Zach Salvatore, Elena Gilbert was dead, that meant no drama, no high school, no Elijah, no Klaus, no breaking the curse, no Originals. It was a bizarre thought, the fact that the entire universe would shift because a girl had died, a girl had died and it hadn't been me.

I stood from the bed, careful not to wake Stefan and stepped into the bathroom, I looked at my reflection in the mirror, I held no resemblance whatsoever to Nina Dobrev or Elena Gilbert or Katherine, none at all. I was me, long dark wavy hair, big brown eyes and a paleness that could be attributed to my depression, while I didn't look as gaunt as I had looked a couple of weeks ago, I still looked a little sick, a little like hell.

"Alex, you okay in there?" asked Stefan's voice through the door.

"Yeah, give me a moment," I answered.

After a quick shower, Stefan and I joined Zach for breakfast, apparently Zach Salvatore could make impressive waffles and bacon. I also served Ghost's breakfast while Stefan read a newspaper and discussed the day with Zach.

"The Lockwood's are holding a small service for the Gilberts today, I know that you guys didn't come here for that," Zach said looking between me and Stefan, we had moved to the living room and he was sitting in a chair across from us while he had taken a couch.

"We could go," I said softly, "I mean, if the family's there, I know what is like to lose everything."

"Alex," Stefan said as he grabbed my hand in his, I smiled at him and rested my head on his shoulder.

"It's okay, really," I said looking up at him, he nodded at me before pressing a kiss to my hair.

Stefan and I changed our clothes for something more presentable, since I hadn't packed for a service I decided to wear my jacket over a black shirt and black jeans with my pair of boots while Stefan opted for a black dress shirt and kept his jeans. Zach Salvatore drove a truck, Stefan and I piled up with him, leaving Ghost behind at the house.

The Lockwood Mansion was a beautiful piece of architecture, if a bit too much for such a small town. Zach led us around the place until we reached the door where Carol and Richard Lockwood were welcome the people into their homes. Zach was quick to guide us to them and they invited us into their home. Stefan and I lounged in the back as the people of Mystic Falls spoke about the Gilberts, in the distance I spotted a young boy, fifteen maybe, that I assumed to be Jeremy Gilbert, he looked miserable by himself in sitting under the shade of a tree in the Lockwood garden.

I tugged on Stefan's shirt and motioned towards the kid.

"Do you think that is the brother that the waitress spoke about?" I asked quietly, Stefan nodded.

"I think so," Stefan said, and I couldn't help but to feel bad for the kid.

I had been right in that kid's shoes , my entire family dead. I knew that he had Jenna and the Mystic Falls community and that eventually he could be okay, but I felt the need to approach him, to assure him that eventually it could be okay. So I did. I let my feet carry me towards were he was and sat next to him on the bench.

"Hi," I said softly.

He looked at me, bloodshot eyes and tearstained cheeks, "Hello," he said probably out of politeness.

"I'm Alex, I came here with Mr. Salvatore and his nephew Stefan," I said looking towards Stefan and Zach that were standing together with who I supposed was Liz Forbes, since she was dressed in police garb, "I'm sorry to hear about your parents, I just want you to know that eventually it does get better."

"How would you know?" he snarled, startling me a bit.

I fiddled with my hands and sighed, "Cause I lost my family too, about six months ago," my voice was low, almost a murmur, Jeremy looked at me with interest, "We were vacationing on a cruise ship, my entire family, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins… I survived and they didn't, it was hard, extremely hard to be alone in the world, to feel so lost," I could feel my eyes tearing up and I looked up to blink the tears away, "but I somehow held on, it was not easy and there were times when I wanted the pain to end, I almost did end it, several times, but I held on and then I met Stefan and he's helped me a lot and I'm not here to tell you that I am back to one hundred percent, the progress its slow and it hurts every day that they're not here, but it gets better," my voice broke in that last word.

"Thank you, I, uh, I'm Jeremy" he said quietly.

I offered him a shaky smile and patted his knee, "you're welcome, Jeremy."

I returned to Stefan's side and he pulled me into a one armed hug as we waited for Zach to finish paying his respects. I spotted two girls that could only be Bonnie and Caroline huddled together in a corner with two other boys, probably Tyler and Matt, Vicky was also hovering nearby. I spent the rest of the service next to Stefan as I didn't trust my emotions anymore. I briefly wondered if Elian had held a service like this for my family, I had never asked, too lost in my grief to care. But between the people of Mystic Falls, the emotions were back falling on me like a buckle of ice cold water.

I was relieved when Stefan told Zach that we were leaving and that we could walk back to the boarding house. Zach threw a few worried looks my way, but Stefan assured him that we would be fine. I asked to go to the bathroom before leaving and Mrs. Lockwood escorted me to a bathroom upstairs since the others were occupied, the house was brimming with people and I had to give it to the woman, she was a wonderful host.

In the bathroom I splashed my face with cold water, thankful that I had decided to not wear makeup. I looked at my reflection in the mirror, I looked 'fine', fine enough to walk out and leave this place. I realized that I didn't have a towel and frowned when I noticed that there were no hand towels available, although there was a small cabinet beneath the sink, I crouched and opened it, and bingo, there were towels, I removed the one that was first when I noticed something.

Carefully I stuck my hand inside the cabinet and to the side I moved the wood a little bit until I pulled out a slightly translucent gemstone, my eyes widened as I realized what I had just found in the tower cabinet, I closed my hand around it and swore under my breath. With Elena dead, the thing was practically useless, right?

I closed my eyes as I considered what to do with it, I could put it back and forget about it, I could and I definitely should've, but I didn't. I slid it in the inside pocket of my jacket before rearranging the towels, I walked out of the bathroom and Carol was there waiting for me, I smiled at her and thanked her, just as another person entered the bathroom. She returned me to Stefan and I thanked her again.

X

"Hey," Stefan called softly as we neared the Boarding House, I looked at him and smiled,"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just… I just forgot how bad it felt," I said sincerely, Stefan was quick to pull me into a hug and press a kiss to the top of my head, "I never knew if someone held a service for them."

"Alex," Stefan said carefully, I let go of him so I could look him in the eyes.

"I was in a hospital unconscious and I don't know who took care of everything," I said as I began to sob, "My entire family and I didn't even had the strength to visit the cemetery afterwards, I just left, I left, Stefan, I tried to drown myself in alcohol and sex and it didn't work and now I feel horrible with myself because you're a fantastic guy that deserves someone whole, not whatever mess I am."

Stefan pulled me into an urgent kiss in the middle of the driveway and my world spun, "Hey, hey," he said holding my face in his hands as tears streamed down my face, everything that I had bottled up until this moment pouring out like a rainstorm, "Alex, you're the most amazing person that I've met in my life," he said as he looked into my eyes, "you're kind, thoughtful and I love the way you hate to wake up before nine am everyday, or the way you drink your coffee with too much sugar, or how much you actually cuddle Ghost."

"Stef," I tried to say.

Stefan pressed another kiss to my mouth, "Let me finish, you're not broken, okay? You're just human and that's just fine, you lost your family and you were dealing with the pain in the only available way, and sure that your parents would understand, I do, I don't care what you did, I don't, I'm just glad I found you and that's it, and I know we're still getting to know each other and that there are things that we probably haven't told each other, but I've fallen in love with you and I just never thought I would feel anything like this in my life and this trip has been a mistake and I'm sorry but I'll make it up to you."

I was speechless, because Stefan had just told me that he loved me and that was the only thing that my brain could process at the moment, despite all the pain that I was feeling at the moment, Stefan was my light out of the dark tunnel of my thoughts, I pulled him by his shirt and pressed my lips to his, putting everything I hadn't said into that kiss, Stefan kissed me back without missing a beat and for that small moment everything was perfect.

"This trip was not a mistake," I murmured against his lips, "This place is beautiful and your uncle Zach makes the best waffles."

Stefan laughed before pressing another kiss to my lips, "You're beautiful," he said as he pulled me into a hug.

I pressed my head against his chest, the beating of his undead heart comforting me in a way that I didn't think possible until this moment, I closed my eyes and took in this moment, I truly didn't deserve Stefan Salvatore but I was glad that he had decided to give me a chance.


	10. Chapter 10

_**So you'll either love me or hate me after this chapter, I say no more.**_

 _ **Reviews:**_

 _ **Marlastiano: :)**_

 _ **immortalblossom: you're welcome hun! Thank you for the review! I hope you like this one.**_

 _ **Silentmayhem: Thank you so much, the stone will come to play later in the story, as will Damon, for now this story is focusing on Alex and Stefan... for now.**_

 _ **xenocanaan: Thank you!**_

 _ **Angelicsailor: Stefan is the most romantic, no one can up his game.**_

 _ **LenaMiaH:**_ ** _Bem, Jeremy receberá ajuda. Posso garantir isso. E Jenna também tem uma amiga, porque Alex é legal assim. Stefan é o cara mais doce de todos, ninguém pode superar sua doçura. Eu fiquei brava com o show quando eles convenientemente esqueceram que Stefan era o cara mais fofo do mundo quando ele não estava sendo o Estripador. E acho que ele terá que contar a Alex em breve. A moonstone é o menor dos problemas de Alex no momento, porque para Klaus, a moonstone é inútil sem um doppelganger. Outra coisa que posso lhe dizer é que Alex não é um doppelganger nem é parente da família Petrova. Ela é completamente humana, mas sim, seu conhecimento a coloca muito alta no mercado._**

 ** _Mari Wollsch: :D!_**

 ** _Millianna07: Thank you so much for reviewing, I can tell you that Stefan is Alex's only love interest in the story, I'm allergic to love triangles or squares or hexagons or any other geometrical figure. And well, I hope you like what I've got planned. It's going to be Epic ;)_**

* * *

 _ **~But you get ready, you get all dressed up**_

 _ **To go nowhere in particular**_

 _ **Back to work or the coffee shop**_

 _ **It don't matter because it's enough**_

 _ **To be young and in love**_

 _ **To be young and in love~**_

 _\- Love, Lana del Rey_

* * *

We returned to New York three days after the service. I had gained a pen pal in the form of one Jeremy Gilbert and a sort of friend in Jenna Sommers, Zach had introduced me to the woman the day after the service since she had seen me talk to Jeremy, I ended up telling her my story and we had exchanged telephone numbers and had called each other quite a lot in the month that passed after the visit to Mystic Falls.

Stefan had moved in with me during that month, it was the most logical thing as he already spent so much of his day with me, and we had established a routine already. He woke up first and made coffee, the smell of said coffee lured me out of my sleep and dragged me to the kitchen where we decided what to make for breakfast while enjoying our coffee, after breakfast we took Ghost out for a run, then back home, shower and lunch, usually going out since cooking lunch could be a hassle, then take Ghost out again for a walk and usually eat dinner outside unless we were feeling like cooking dinner.

It had been the most domestic that I had been since ever. I couldn't remember my life ever being so easy going, so normal that sometimes I forgot that I was actually sleeping with a vampire. With a very wickedly talented vampire. We enjoyed ourselves, perhaps a little too much, but we were on that honeymoon stage of our relationship, in which everything was new and always a pleasure to discover. And Stefan was practically a saint to put up with someone as complicated and damaged as I was, but he rarely complained and was always there to pull me back whenever life got too hard or to offer advise whenever Jeremy Gilbert asked something that got me in one of my most depressive moods.

The kid and I were actually helping one another cope, I had advised him against drugs and alcohol, citing my own personal experiences and how it only made the pain worse in the long run. I advised him to find a new hobby, to get new friends do a sport, to talk to Jenna, as she was suffering too. Although I couldn't say that it was one hundred percent working, I could say that it was a start, and that was all that mattered at the moment.

The moonstone that I had stolen from the Lockwood house had been safely stored inside an old jewelry box that I owned and shoved into a corner of my closet. Until I decided if I wanted to join the drama that came with Katerina and the Originals, I decided to forget about it, it was for the best, since I was not a vampire or anything like it at the moment.

I often wondered if Stefan would ever tell me what he actually was, my main fear was that one day he was going to compel me to forget him and that he would just leave, he was altruistic enough to think that living without him was probably better for my own self. So I had one semi-rational fear. I had nothing else to lose since my entire family was dead and I was holding on to a vampire boyfriend that had no idea that I knew what he was.

My main problem was that I didn't know how to breach the issue without putting myself in danger. I couldn't just accidentally cut myself while cooking, as much as I loved Stefan, I didn't know much about his self control, nor did I knew his feeding schedule, what if I caught him extremely hungry? I liked my head attached to the rest of my body and I was realist enough to not put myself in danger over some notion that true love was going to save me from Stefan killing me on a bloodlust induced frenzy. I couldn't do that to him either, because if I ended up dead, I'm sure that he was going to end up depressed as fuck. So the only thing that I could do was wait until he decided to tell me, if he ever did.

But it wasn't like I was really bothered by the fact that Stefan was a vampire, or that he was hiding that from me, Stefan could have been a ninja turtle and I would've been fine with it, I loved him. I loved Stefan Salvatore. I loved Stefan.

"Alex, hey," Stefan's voice brought me out of my thoughts, he was waving his hand in front of my face, an amused look on his face.

"What?" I asked dumbly.

Stefan smiled at me, "What has you thinking so hard?"

His question was completely innocent, I had gone through a life changing revelation, I loved him. I hadn't say it back to him back in Mystic Falls and he hadn't pressured me, I needed my time and he knew, but here he was, sitting at our kitchen counter, Ghost napping by his feet, looking like he had always belonged there.

"I love you," I said bluntly and his eyes widened almost comically, "I love you," I repeated more for his sake than mine, "I love the way you wake up extremely early in the morning, I love the fact that you remember how I like my coffee and that you're not annoyed when Ghost slobbers all over your shoes and shirts, I just hadn't realized that every little thing that you did only made me fall in love with you and I'm an idiot for not telling you before and I-"

The rest of what I had planned to say to him was cut by Stefan pressing his lips to mine, I hadn't noticed that he stood and rounded the counter or how he had been so fast, but he was kissing me like if our lives depended on it and I realized that I wouldn't have had it any other way.

"I love you too," he assured me, and I realized that for the first time since I had woken up after the accident, all was well.

* * *

Stefan decided that a trip was needed to celebrate, and I couldn't complain, what surprised me was that Zach had come to New York to pick up Ghost and promised that he would keep my fur baby safe and happy in Mystic Falls. Stefan being Stefan refused to tell me where we were going but assured me that I was going to love it.

After a two hour flight we reached Chicago, I was interested as hell about the place, because I remembered that most of Stefan's life in the 20's had been spent in the city breaking havoc. It also confused me because Stefan hadn't mentioned anything about his vampire ways to me, but Chicago had been an important city to him, so I was trying to enjoy the ride.

"You're going to love it, the architecture, the museums, the theater," Stefan was saying as we made our way from the airport to the hotel.

I was looking out of the window of the rental, it was not Stefan's red Porsche, but rather a black sleek Range Rover. I had to say that I was really excited as I had never visited the Windy City before. It had been in my plans, but due to my untimely death and consequent relocation and trauma regarding the death of my family and loss of friends, I had never really gotten to it. But here I was, in a rented SUV with Stefan, I looked at him.

"I trust you have an entire schedule for us," I said with a smirk.

"You bet, there's so much that's changed since I lived here," he said and abruptly stopped himself.

"You lived here? For how long?" I asked, actively ignoring his slip.

"A couple of years ago, I was younger and stupid, the entire thing is a haze, you could say that I was trying to have some fun," he said and winked.

I threw my head back and laughed, "Stefan Salvatore having fun? I hope no one called the cops on you."

"Naah, it was not my best behavior, but I didn't get arrested," he told me with a charming smile.

* * *

We arrived to the hotel and we were quick to ditch out bags and the car and began walking around. Stefan had booked us a five stars hotel in the middle of the city, so everything was more or less at walking distance and the weather, despite it being summer, was not that bad. The first few days we visited museums and important buildings, including the majestic Sears Tower. Stefan had brought a camera and snapped many pictures of us and then many pictures of me, mainly covering my face or laughing.

I was pleasantly surprised by Lincoln Park, it was not Central Park by any stretch but I loved it all the same, we had spent an entire day sunbathing at one of its beaches, just enjoying each other at leisure. In between memorials, the zoo and everything else that the Park had to offer we had to return twice after our initial visit to be able to see it all.

Chicago was a dream, Stefan had assured me that we could stay for as long as I wanted, and since I wanted to see as much as possible our trip spanned for two weeks. By the end of the second week, I could say that we had visited and eaten through most of the town.

"There's this bar, I saw the sign a couple of days ago and I was surprise to see that it was still open, so perhaps we could go in the afternoon before its full," Stefan said with a small smile.

He knew that I avoided bars with all my strength, after getting my life pieced together I had almost cut off the alcohol and the bars from my life, drinking only socially or small amounts with Stefan. I had been 'clean' for almost three months now.

"Of course," I said and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips, "I mean, I've dragged you through this city, the least I can do is go to this bar with you, besides, I don't dislike bars."

"No, you just avoid them like the plague," he said as he pulled me into a hug, I squealed as he moved me and he laughed.

"I think I've had enough bars to last me a lifetime," I grumbled against his chest.

Stefan laughed and pressed a kiss to my hair, "Think we can go after lunch?"

"Perfect, now lets go, I saw a restaurant that looked pretty enough," I said and began dragging him through the busy street.

* * *

There was a vintage sign that read Gloria's at the entrance. To be honest it looked cozy enough. Stefan led me inside, a hand pressed to the small of my back, something he did for reassurance whenever we went somewhere that could trigger a reaction from me, or when he wanted to establish that I was his and so not available to date other guys.

"I mean, it was pretty enough, but I've cooked better pasta," I said as we walked towards the bar.

"Dessert was really good," he said and I had to nod, the churros had been fantastic.

"Fine, I'll give them that and the pink Sangrias was fine, I guess," I shrugged as he pulled a seat for me.

"You hated it," he told me, his serious vampire look in place.

I laughed and nodded, "I hated it, lesson's learned."

"Stefan Salvatore," said a feminine voice approaching us, "look at you."

Stefan and I looked up, a dark skinned white haired woman approached us, she looked to be in her forties.

"Gloria?" he asked in astonishment, I could see in his face that he was sort of regretting visiting the bar.

Gloria approached us, from behind the bar and shook Stefan's hand and then mine, I smiled at her.

"You're not going to introduce us?" Gloria asked, sounding like a reprimanding mother.

"Ah, sure, Alex, this is Gloria, owner of this fine establishment, Gloria, this is Alex, my girlfriend," he said with a small smile directed my way.

I smiled back at him and then returned my attention to Gloria.

"You've cleaned up yourself quite well, Stefan," she said with a smile, "Can I bring you something?"

Stefan and I exchanged glances and I nodded at him.

"Two beers, please," he said, Gloria looked at me and then at Stefan again before she went to get the beers.

Had I been less caught up in the fact that I had just met a really old witch, I would have noticed the other presence at the bar, and it wouldn't have taken me by surprise when an accented voice spoke behind me.

"Hello there, may I join you?"


	11. Chapter 11

_**Hello there dear readers!**_

 _ **So this small update jumped me earlier today and wouldn't leave me alone until I had written it, so here u go ;)**_

 _ **To Your Reviews.**_

 _ **AngelicSailor: It shan't.**_

 _ **laraliz16: Hahahaha, necesito que me digas por que seria ironico? (tienes todo mi interes). Alex y Stefan son lo mas Goals, pinterest envidia su relacion. Y pues Alex siente que Jeremy es un buen niño que lo que necesita es un buen amigo (o amiga en su caso) Y pues te digo que no esperes mas, porque aqui estamos. Ojala te guste! :)**_

 _ **SarahFanaFanta:**_ ** _Merci beaucoup pour la critique. Je suis content que vous ayez aimé le chapitre. Je vis pour les cliffhangers, j'adore le drame._**

 _ **SilentMayhem: Yes.**_

 _ **Shannyrox101: Not quite.**_

 _ **Xenocanaan: Thank you!**_

 _ **Chloemika: I know, thanks! They're so cute.**_

 _ **LenaMiaH:**_ ** _Como sempre, sua crítica não deixa de colocar um sorriso no meu rosto. Neste ponto, sinto que postei apenas para ler sua resenha, mas shhh ... não conte a ninguém. Posso prometer que haverá mais Alex, Jeremy e Jenna, que se tornarão bons amigos. E você está certo, quando Stefan não está sendo um estripador, ele é simplesmente adorável. Espero explorar mais personagens à medida que a história se desenvolve, tenho uma reviravolta planejada, bem para Alex e Stefan, pois é algo que afetará os dois, não necessariamente ruim, mas mudará a dinâmica do relacionamento deles. . Além disso, Alex aceitar o fato de que ela ama Stefan é um grande passo para ela, já que ela estava em um lugar tão escuro no começo. Quanto a Alex ter 'poderes' ou 'habilidades', ainda estou brincando com a ideia, porque ainda não tenho muita certeza do que quero, embora tenha um plano para a maldição de Klaus. Quanto a Damon ... ele está por perto, vamos nos encontrar com ele, não neste capítulo, mas talvez em breve. Quanto ao segredo de Stefan, ele está limpo, por enquanto._**

 ** _Baradi: Thanks!_**

 ** _Guest: ;)_**

 ** _: Thanks, and I agree with you, nice guys don't have to necessarily finish last ;)_**

 ** _iluvfairytale: If you say so, he shall._**

 ** _FrickHydra: Read and find out._**

 ** _Smiling Seshat: she figured out that Stefan was a vampire when Zach revealed that his name was Stefan Salvatore. This story is sort of a SI-OC, as Alex is from 'our' universe._**

 ** _RenTenTen: Don't be scared._**

 ** _Manypies: I think that my stories are like fightclub, its sort of an underground club, also some people tend to steer away from self inserts. Thank you so much for your kind words, some original(s) are nearby ;)_**

 ** _AnimeFreak71777: :D_**

* * *

 ** _~I'm fairly local, I've been around_**

 ** _I've seen the streets you're walking down_**

 ** _I'm fairly local, good people now~_**

 _\- Fairly Local, TwentyOne Pilots._

* * *

I recognized the accent and I had to still myself before turning because I was ninety-five percent sure that I was going to sort of recognize the face. Now that I had realized where I was, I always took enough care to look at everybody twice and I doubt that anything could have prepared me to meet the Niklaus Mikaelson. But it was something that the Original Vampire didn't need to know. I looked at Stefan as he looked at the newcomer, Stefan was frowning at Klaus but trying to be polite at the same time.

Now, Klaus Mikaelson was dangerous, unpredictable and extremely gorgeous. I had eyes and there was no fault in looking, there was something decidedly wild about the Original Hybrid, or … well not a hybrid, and probably wouldn't be, since Elena Gilbert was dead and Elena hadn't had any children, well, fuck.

"Sure," Stefan said after a moment, he stood to shake Klaus' hand, some sort of Macho bullshit going on between them, "I'm Stefan, and this is my girlfriend, Alex."

I waved at Klaus before I took a sip of my beer, he and Stefan sat down at the table and I offered him a smile once I placed my beer down.

"I'm Nik, you're new in the area?" Klaus asked looking at me.

"Yes, we're visiting from New York, we're celebrating our relationship and my three months being free of drugs and alcohol, I was sort of in a bad place and Stef pulled me out of it," I said with a kind smile.

Klaus looked between Stefan and me, there was something in his eyes that I couldn't quite place, "Congratulations then, love."

"How about you?" asked Stefan, "Where are you from?"

"Originally? Small town in Virginia, but my family travelled a lot, I've been all around the world," Klaus said, "My parents were from Norway."

"Were?" I asked, trying to sound sympathetic.

"They passed away a couple of years ago," he informed us.

"We're sorry," I said as I placed my hand on his, "I lost my parents several months ago, my entire family actually, and Stef lost his parents too, I know how hard it is to lose your family."

"It seems that us orphans call out to each other," Klaus said with a small smile.

I looked at Stefan and smiled at him reassuringly before returning my attention to Klaus.

"We're here for two more days before returning to New York, we have tickets for the theater tonight, perhaps you can join us?" Stefan asked.

It was clear that Klaus was surprised by Stefan's offer, but perhaps there was something about Klaus that called out to Stefan, and since they were not in opposing sides of a conflict they could be friends, or sort of.

"I would be honored to join you," Klaus said.

He and Stefan exchanged phone numbers and the three of us continued to make easy conversation. I had to give it to the Original Hybrid, he could be completely charming when he wanted to be. Stefan and I left the bar after a while, Klaus promising to meet us at the theatre at eight.

* * *

 _ **Niklaus Mikaelson Interlude**_

Niklaus Mikaelson looked at his reflection in the mirror as he fixed his jacket. Stefan Salvatore and his very human girlfriend had invited him to the theater. It had been a surprise, seeing the once ripper again, specially in Chicago, and Niklaus wasn't really one to believe in coincidences, but then again, the human. The human girl was an enigma to Niklaus, she had garnered his attention and curiosity.

There was something about her that Niklaus couldn't quite place, a softness, something about her made him want to protect her and everything that could harm her, and he was sure that Stefan Salvatore felt the same thing, otherwise he was sure that the ripper would have feasted on her blood long ago, the human also smelled incredibly appetizing. Like something sweet and decadent, a forbidden fruit, but at the same level that she smelt sweet, there was the nagging in the back of Niklaus' mind that she was to be protected at all cost.

Which is why he had accepted the invitation to the theater. He wasn't supposed to last this long in Chicago, he had wanted to ask Gloria about what he had felt recently, the witch had been a dead end and Niklaus was beginning to become frustrated, and a frustrated Niklaus didn't bode well for the local population. Despite it all, he was trying to be careful, he didn't want to clue Elijah into his whereabouts, the last thing he needed was for his big brother to be chasing after him.

As he waited for the appropriate time to meet Stefan Salvatore and his 'Alex', Niklaus' thoughts returned to the girl. She was nothing special, he had seen his fair share of beautiful women through the centuries, and compared to most of them, 'Alex' looked quite plain. He had seen the dark circles under her eyes, something that perhaps human eyes wouldn't catch as they had been craftily concealed under a fine layer of makeup, but his would and did, he could also notice that she was quite thin, her collarbone being an indicator of the fact that the girl needed to put on a little more weight.

He supposed that Stefan Salvatore was a man on a mission then, if the insistence of taking her somewhere to eat something more once they had said they goodbyes. Niklaus had followed them as closely as he could, Stefan had gotten Alex into a small bakery and had needled the girl into eating a rather large piece of cake and a cup of coffee. The girl had accepted her fate with the resignation of a parent that was dealing with an unruly child and managed to eat half of the cake. After they had walked out of the bakery, Stefan had mentioned something about snow cones in the park and Niklaus had found himself smiling at the lack of subtlety coming from the ex-ripper.

"I'm going to get fat," the girl had told the vampire.

Stefan Salvatore had rolled his eyes as he handed her a big red snow cone, "Nonsense, you've barely eaten today, besides we won't be able to get dinner until after the play."

After that small exchange, the pair had continued with their stroll, talking about unimportant things and mentioning something about someone named Zach and a Ghost. For a moment Niklaus had wondered if Alex was versed in the supernatural but scratched the idea when he realized that the girl had been talking about a pet, most likely a dog.

* * *

So there he was, Niklaus Mikaelson, going to the theater with a seemingly reformed ripper and the ripper's human lover. He arrived to theater several minutes earlier, deciding to scout the area by himself, he was paranoid and he knew it, but it was better to be safe than to be sorry later. He heard the human laughing first, and his eyes scanned the crowd before his eyes locked onto their figures.

"No way, you're lying, Stef," she told him.

Stefan smirked at the girl, "Once we're home I'll call Lexi to come visit, she has the CD."

"You got it on eBay most likely," she countered.

"Hello," Niklaus greeted before they continued the argument.

"Hi, Nik!" Alex said as she grinned at him.

Niklaus grabbed her hand gently and pressed a kiss to the back of it, "Hello, love," he let go of her hand and then turned his attention to Stefan, they shook hands.

"I rented a balcony box," Stefan informed him, "Alex gets anxious around many people."

"It's no problem," Niklaus assured the younger vampire.

Stefan nodded at him and the three of them walked inside. Niklaus had to admit that Stefan had rented out the best balcony box, balcony box 3, for the night, it was isolated enough from the rest of the attendants. Of course Niklaus probably should have done his research of what he was getting into. When Stefan had invited him to the theatre, he had assumed that the younger vampire had meant to see a play, not to see Kanye West in concert. It seemed that Alex didn't enjoy Kayne West as much as Stefan did, but she managed to enjoy herself with Niklaus' commentary.

"I can't believe you like Kayne West this much, I mean Bon Jovi I can understand, but Kanye?" Alex asked Stefan as the three of them walked outside after the concert.

"Hey, I went with you to that Jonas Brothers concert and you didn't hear me complaining," Stefan countered trying to sound mad, but he was smiling.

"Hey, no dissing the JoBros, they are fantastic," Alex then turned her attention to Nik, "How about you Nik? What's your favorite band?"

"I'm partial to the Beatles," Niklaus answered with a smile.

"See, Stef, the Beatles are nice, when I was kid I was really proud when I learned to play Yesterday on the piano," Alex said with a proud smile.

"You play the piano, love?"

"Not since a long time," she answered softly.

Niklaus seemed to consider his next words, "Why don't I invite you two to dinner?" he proposed, looking between Stefan and Alex.

The pair exchanged glances and nodded. Niklaus led them to one of his favorite restaurants in town. He and Stefan hit it off fairly well, and Niklaus decided that he enjoyed Alexandra's, because that was her full name, he enjoyed her presence as well. They ended up exchanging phone numbers after Niklaus walked the pair back to their hotel, he assured them that he was staying nearby and that he was going to be fine on his own. Amusement causing him to smile at the human's worried glances his way.

He found it a bit endearing that Alexandra was worrying herself over his general wellbeing. So Niklaus had made up his mind. He was going to take a page out of Stefan's book and play the cool human for a little longer, besides, as his brother was fond of saying, having friends was not a sin.

* * *

 _ **(A/N: Fun fact, Kayne West performed in the Chicago Theatre on the 11th of June 2009)**_


	12. Announcement

Hello Guys!

First of all I have to apologize for not updating the fic that you're reading, know that I appreciate all the follows, favorites and reviews that you guys leave on my works.

Second, have faith that I will try with all my heart and soul to finish those fics, they are still my babies and I do want to finish them, either by bulletpoint short story or the long chaptered versions, but I'll attempt to give you guys, and myself, some closure in all of my fics.

Third, I've been thinking about changing platforms completely and move to Archive of Our Own completely, but I would like to hear your opinions in the matter. (I just find it that it is easier to post things there and I love the tagging system that they have.)

Now I will proceed to tell you about the status of each of my fics, so you guys know how I far along I have worked.

1\. **Crescent.** Next chapter half way through, got side tracked and wrote the beginning of an Emmett/Alex story that one day I might post.

2\. **A Time For Wolves.** Up to chapter 8 written and under revision, will update soon, also got side tracked, wrote some drabbles that went nowhere, frustrated.

3\. **Primrose.** Need to start writing the next chapter, this story needs a very special mood to be written in, haven't felt it in months, sorry.

4\. **Broken Like Me.** love this fic, halfway through next chapter's outline, trying to see where to take the story (since I **SPOILER ALERT** , killed Elena and broke canon)

5\. **Changing Fates Original Sins.** Was rereading the story, hated it, re-wrote it differently, way too differently, is currently sitting patiently in my google docs. Also the redo is completely written, will be posted in Archive of Our Own someday.

6\. **CF. Iron Dads and Other Ailments.** Endgame was depressing, I tried to lift myself up, the next chapter is halfway through but my Post-Endgame Depression still hits me hard, wrote 3 AUs of this AU, don't know how to currently end them, the MCU consumes me, but I will post them in AO3 and will be putting all the works into a series.

7\. **The Soldier and the Traveler.** As of now it is a complete story, might add a snipet if I get in a Jasper Mood someday.

8\. **Believer.** I have something written, but it is too little for what I want to post, will be revising it in the upcoming days/months.

9\. **Apocalypse Now.** I honestly don't know where to take this... send help.

10\. **Changing Fates an Unexpected Journey (Rewrite).** I am truly working into this story, everyone knows that I am a slut for Glorfindel but my muse hates me so much, as of now I have written 2 Thranduil Focused stories, 1 with Legolas, and one with Maedhros (yes I got sucked into the Silmarillion Fandom), began a Celegorm one and there is a Finrod Plot Bunny pestering me, also ... Sauron is looking fine these days isn't he?. (send even more help)

11/12/13. **The 3 Supernatural fics**. I hate myself so much that I was trying to write this and instead wrote like 4 more stories, I clearly don't know how to fanfiction.

14\. **Changing Fates Night Games.** It is written in its entirety, but pending correction because I am also lazy as fuck.

15/16. **The Sun Dragon and the Young Wolf/Ice Burns.** See number 2, still frustrated, also was unhappy over the GOT ending.

17\. **Darkest Before Dawn.** Got stuck, wrote an Orm fic to get back into the DC mood, got stuck again.

18/19. **A Case of Misguided Identities/ Harry Potter and the Changed Fates.** I so want to continue this, but I haven't seen my Harry Potter muse for ages. Will probably do bulletpoints for HP and the Changed Fates tho'

20\. **Live Free or Twihard.** I think this was the second fic I ever posted here, lets forget it exist and lets focus on Crescent, The Soldier and the Traveler and in Believer.

So as you can see it wasn't that I stopped writing altogether but that I got sidetracked in one way or another (Tolkien did this to me), I thank you for your patience and for the fact that you still read my fics, and the fact that I tried and still want to try doing the discord thing because I'm pretty bored over quarantine.

So thank you again for reading my stories, this announcement will be post in all of the stories that I mentioned so if you read it once you can ignore the other notifications.

Much love (really guys send help),

Alex 3


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